Persistence and effectiveness in goal directed activity: The effect of situational context and the strength of will

  • Romana Kadzikowska-Wrzosek SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Sopot
Keywords: autonomy; control; strength of will; persistence; effectiveness

Abstract

The purpose of the present study (N = 120) was to examine whether persistence and effectiveness of goal directed activity depend on situational context (control vs. autonomy support) and individual difference in efficiency of control action mechanisms. The theoretical background for the choice of independent variables included Richard M. Ryan and Edward L. Deci’s Self-Determination Teory and Julius Kuhl’s strength of will conception. The results confirmed the interactional effect of the situational context (control vs. autonomy support) and individual difference in the efficiency of action control mechanisms on persistence and effectiveness. The indexes of persistence and effectiveness were greater for state-oriented participants with externally controlled instructions than for individuals who received autonomy-supportive instructions. Action-oriented participants were less influenced by the specific way of motivating (control vs. autonomy), however, when the effect of the situational context was stronger, action-oriented participants had lower indexes of persistence and effectiveness. In the context of external control, state oriented participants had higher indexes of persistence and effectiveness as compared to action-oriented participants. In the autonomy-support context, action-oriented participants had higher indexes of persistence and effectiveness than state-oriented participants.

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Published
2019-03-29
Section
Articles