Character Motivation Through Cognitive Evaluation Theory

Explain how your character's motivation aligns with Self-Determination Theory, Organismic Integration Theory, or Cognitive Evaluation Theory


First describe the theory, then explain how aspects of the theory played into the motivation of your Character. 

For example, you can explain Cognitive Evaluation Theory and then describe how your Character's intrinsic motivation was supported by perceptions of competence, autonomy, and positive relationships, and how these were supported within his/her environment. 


Cognitive Evaluation Theory

Cognitive Evaluation Theory investigates the effect of external factors on intrinsic motivation. “Cognitive Evaluation Theory asserts that all external events have both a controlling aspect and an informational aspect. The theory also presumes that people have psychological needs for autonomy and competence… It is the controlling aspect of an external event that affects the person’s need for autonomy, whereas it is the informational aspect of an external event that affects the person’s need for competence.” The text breaks this concept down into three propositions. 


The first is that “external events affect a person’s intrinsic motivation when they influence the perceived locus of causality for that behavior”. This means that when a person’s perception of the source of their success shifts, they may lose or gain motivation depending on the direction. For example, if a team is winning a soccer game against an opponent, thinking that their success is sourced from their skill, but then start losing drastically when the opposing team’s injured player comes back… they may start to attribute their success to the other player being on the bench, instead of their abilities on the field.


The second is that “external events affect a person’s intrinsic motivation for an optimally challenging activity when they influence the person’s perceived competence. For example, if I am only somewhat motivated to do math homework, believing that I am bad at math, and then make a 98% on the test… my perceived competence goes up, bringing my intrinsic motivation with it. This proposition states that the more or less competent we feel, the more or less motivated we will also feel.


The third proposition of cognitive evaluation theory is that “events relevant to the initiation and regulation of behavior have three potential aspects, each with a functional significance”. These three aspects are informational (facilitates internal PLOC), controlling (facilitates external PLOC), and motivation (perceived competence/ incompetence). To summarize, cognitive behavioral theory is a complex combination of factors that can influence our intrinsic motivation and reasoning for actions.



Theory Influence on Character Motivations

Looking at my character (June Osborne) through a Cognitive Evaluation Theory lens explains many of her actions throughout the series. As mentioned in my last blog post, her motivations change drastically as the world around her disintegrates. This theory gets at the root of the motivational changes and how extrinsic factors influenced her intrinsic motivations. 


My character's intrinsic motivation was supported by perceptions of competence, autonomy, and positive relationships, and how these were supported within her environment almost continuously. In the beginning, she assumes that she will be able to rescue her daughter and escape purely based on her intense anger at the government and love for her child. Once she attempts and fails, her perceived competence plummets, causing her intrinsic motivation to severely dip. Next, her autonomy is nearly non-existent in this series. The entire show is centered around a world where women have little to no autonomy in any way much less bodily autonomy. This missing component makes it incredibly difficult for June and her peers to hold and maintain any level of motivation. Third, June does manage to find positive relationships, even if several of them would be considered trauma bonds and proved to not function once outside of traumatic situations. 


Overall, June Osborne is heavily influenced by external factors, as she has little to no control over her own life. Despite the lack of autonomy, and repeated devastating failures causing her to question her competence, the handful of positive relationships combined with the resolve of motherhood cause her to find her intrinsic motivation again after every challenge. Even when she escapes to Canada, June will not stop until her entire family and friends are safe.

Comments

  1. Jeannine TurnerOctober 22, 2023 at 9:04 AM

    Intrinsic motivation is when doing the thing itself is enjoyable. I do not believe June had intrinsic motivation to rescue her child. I suspect that she had identified motivation, meaning she valued the goal, but pursuing the goal was not enjoyable in itself.

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