Self-Determination Theory #1

Two dozen years ago Edward Deci and Richard Ryan created what they called, and is now recognized as, the Self-Determination Theory.  I had run across it several times over the year, but did not read anything on this theory.  I did not until Colin Cox referred to it during his 2013 Neuro-Semantic Conference Keynote presentation at Kaula Lumper.  Then hearing him speak and speaking with him about it, I realized I needed to study it.  So I did.

They call their theory an Organismic Dialectical Perspective.  To them “organismic” means that we humans are active, growth-oriented organisms.  “Dialectical” means that there are two poles: one being to fulfil one’s own nature, the other is the tendency to go toward and fulfil our social environments.  This theory is a view of human development wherein people are assumed to possess an active tendency toward psychological growth and integration (Deci, 2002, p. 8).  In Neuro-Semantics we call that the self-actualization drive which we believe is in everyone and is the experience of all people.  Deci and Ryan even describe it as we do: “actualizing human potentials.”

“Endowed with an innate striving to exercise and elaborate their interests, individuals tend naturally to seek challenges, to discover new perspectives, and to actively internalize and transform cultural practices.  By stretching their capacities and expressing their talents and propensities, people actualize their human potentials.  Within this perspective, active growth is complemented by a tendency toward synthesis, organization, or relative unity of both knowledge and personality.   Moreover, the integration of that which is experienced provides the basis for a coherent sense of self— a sense of wholeness, vitality, and integrity.” (2002, Handbook of Self-Determination Research, p. 1).

They even quote Maslow and Rogers and others in the first Human Potential Movement and acknowledge:

“This general view of an active, integrating organism with the potential to act from a coherent sense of self can be found in psychodynamic and humanistic theories of personality and in cognitive theories of development.  Angyal, 1963, Maslow 1955, Rogers, 1963, (p. 1).”

What they then do with Maslow’s hierarchy, however, is to reduce it and simplify it.  Personally I think they over-simplify it.  They sub-sum all of the human needs under three categories (Deci, 2002, p. 5):

Competence: To feel effective in your actions, capacities and so want challenges to extend competence, and able to achieve goals.  Do you feel able to achieve your goals?

Relatedness: To feel connected to others, to be cared for and to care for others, sense of belongingness, sense of community, to feel a need to belong.  Do you feel connected to others in a warm, positive and interpersonal manner?

Autonomy: To feel that you are the origin or source of your behavior, you act from your interests and integrated values, that you are responsible for you, to feel a need to express your authentic self and yourself as a source of action.   Do you feel at choice and responsible for imitating your behavior?

This changes the hierarchy of human needs which Maslow researched and developed.  It does so first by leaving out the survival level, putting pieces of it under autonomy and competence and then entirely leaves out a category for self and for self-actualization needs and values— the being-values and drives.  For “self,” the theorists put it under all of the categories and speak about the importance of internalizing and integrating one’s values (they call that organismic integration).  But worse, it eliminates the hierarchical nature of needs, the emergence of needs.

For the NLP Meta-Program of internal referencing versus external referencing and for the semantic meta-program of self-identification, they speak about people becoming ego-involved in an activity and its outcome (Korzybski calls this “identification”) then one’s feelings of self-worth…

“… become hinged to their performance such that they do the activity to prove themselves that they are good at the activity and thus are worthy individuals.” (Deci, 2002, p. 13)

We call that conditional self-esteem.  And where we urge for unconditional self-esteem, they speak about shifting to “task-involvement” that is, being involved with a task for the task itself rather than its implications for feelings of self-worth.  In some places in the writing, they seem to confuse self-esteem (being) with self-confidence (doing) and yet at other places in the writing they talk about unconditional value— no conditions.

The importance of autonomy shows up in their emphasis on self-regulation.  When a person internalizes a process and brings it in from external to make it internal, they develop self-regulation.

“The more fully a regulation is internalized, the more it becomes part of the integrated self and the more it is the basis for self-determined behavior.” (p. 15).  This requires meaning.  “People must grasp its meaning … and synthesize that meaning.” (p. 20)

In this model, people “grasp” meaning, they do not create it or manage it.  From the NLP and Neuro-Semantic perspective it is a strange thing for a model that is supposed to promote self-determination. Now self-determination theory centrally focuses on the reason why, the motive, behind doing whatever you do.  If you act for external reasons, instrumental reasons, for the end-state—then it is not internal.  To be self-determining requires that a person choose to strive for their goals from out of their own values and self-knowledge.  One danger is that of self-infiltration: a person incorporates the recommendations of an authority figure while believing they were his ideas (p. 81).  We call that the inside-out process—which is central in Neuro-Semantics and Meta-Coaching.

When it comes to the basic needs, the authors use Maslow’s language (fully functioning, thwarting, eudaimonic, well-being, self-actualization, vitality), and yet do not quote or refer to Maslow when they do so (Deci, 2002, pp. 22-24).  I don’t know why people do that.  Do they think that no one who has read Maslow will read their  work and see the plagiarism?  Anyway, they do speak about the importance of experiencing “greater organismic thriving and health” as a bottom-up process.  Well-being is enhanced in this way as it arises from the lowest need to the highest.

Autonomy is a need of tremendous value.  They write that when people are autonomous, “people experience themselves as valuable for being who they are” rather than doing a particular activity.  From there, a person can then seek out various activities which the person values and do them for that reason.  In some of the research by Edward Deci, he discovered this:

“… rewarding people for engaging in enjoyable, fun activities decreases their likelihood of future engagement in these activities.” (2002, p. 132)

This is what Colin quoted in his Keynote when he presented a challenge to what most of us think we know about motivation.  Here is the shocker: External rewards reduces internal motivation!  Now imagine the implications this has for parenting, for coaching, and for training.  Where the writers of this theory go next is to the problem of “social contagion.”  What does that mean?  It means that when you pursue an activity “for its own sake,” this will be a compelling human phenomenon.  But when you pursue an activity for a compelling social reason, it undermines your personal autonomy and shifts  your “locus of causality” from inside to the outside.  That’s not good.  That will decrease your intrinsic motivation.  Stunning, isn’t it?

Suppose you actually wanted to reduce a person’s motivation.  What would you do?  The authors write this:

“…if people are induced to ascribe boredom and obligation to a task, they are less intrinsically motivated than if they ascribe enjoyment, challenge, and interest to the same activity.  Labeling an activity as work increases intrinsic motivation for those who held positive attitudes toward work compared to those who do not. (p. 143)

“Deci found that rewarding people for engaging in enjoyable, fun activities decreased their likelihood of future engagement in these activities.” (p. 132)

Now we are getting to meaning (semantics).  They speak about it in terms of labels and labeling.  Yet we know in Neuro-Semantics that what you attribute to an activity operates as its classification.  When you put something in a category (the meta-stating process) you thereby set the frame by which you understand it.  That’s why and how the frame determines the experience.  So what do you expect about any given activity?  Will it be enjoyable or boring?  Fun or work?  Be careful what you expect because your expectation (a meta-level state and frame) will set in place a self-organizing process.

As coaches, trainers, consultants, etc., this suggests that you nurture your client’s intrinsic motivation and internalization processes by encouraging them to take the initiative and develop their skills.  This is a non-controlling approach (rather than Rogers’ non-directive approach) because it is not being permissive or laissez-faire.  To be supportive in a way that encourages the other’s autonomy is to elicit from them why an activity is important, challenge them to step up to it, give feedback about how they are doing, etc.  For a client to be and feel autonomous he needs to perceive his locus of causality and volitional choice.   More about this in the next post.

Reference:

Edward L. Deci, Richard M. Ryan (2002).  Handbook of Self-Determinational Research, UK: University of Rochester Press.

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

There are many dimensions of self-actualization, maybe there are as many dimensions as there are aspects of human experience.  As we in Neuro-Semantics keep studying, researching, training, coaching, and consulting on self-actualization and enabling people to live a self-actualizing life, we are discovering new dimensions.  To this end, I have designed the Self-Actualization Training, Certification, Competency skills, and Diploma around four of the key dimensions: vitality, potentiality, creativity, and leadership.  These are very different aspects of the self-actualizing life and so each of the trainings are very different as well.

The Vitality Dimension – Biological Self-Actualization

The focus in the first module is on identifying a person’s basic and higher needs so that a person can adequately and truly satisfy those needs.  When a person succeeds in doing this, it results in vitality-energy and motivation to live more fully and humanly.  It enables a you to discover your real self and to be authentically you.  How about that!?  How much is that worth? What then results from this vitality dimension of biological self-actualization is authenticity- being real and authentic in yourself as a person.

After all, if you do not have vitality and energy to live your life with focus and passion, then you will not be able to be your best self or fulfil your visions and values. It takes energy for the effort of self-actualizing.  Where can you get that kind of energy?  That energy comes from the built-in drives within your mind-body system. These drives are instinct-like but without content information.  So you have to learn.  You have to learn what these drives are and how to adequately and truly satisfy them.  Do that, and then as they go away, the next level of drives emerge. Eventually, you move beyond the lower needs to the higher being-needs that are the truly human needs that enables us to be fully alive, fully human.

The Potentiality Dimension – Psychological Self-Actualization

The focus in the second module refers to what is potential in human beings which can be made actual and therefore real in your everyday life.  To find, identify, and develop your potentials, begin by taking on the challenge of owning and exercising your human powers as a meaning-making in constructing great and positive meanings and also in releasing limiting meanings.  We refer to this as entering into the Construct and taking ownership of these powers.  This lies at the heart of Neuro-Semantics (as you can see from the front page of the website, www.neurosemantics.com).

Doing that then allows you to create a human Crucible whereby you can release old meanings that no longer serve you and which may, in fact, create leashes that prevent the unleashing of potentials.  From this then you can create the synergy of integrating meanings and performance as you move into “the zone” of optimum performance and do so at your will.  In APG we call this the “personal genius” or “flow” state.  The result that follows from this is a being-doing synergy that allows you to close the knowing-doing gap.

This is the core drama of self-actualizing and we talk about it as a drama in three acts: The Construct, the Crucible, and the Zone.  After all, self-actualization is a function of “both contemplation and action” (Maslow) or as we say, meaning and performance (challenge and competence).  To taking ownership of meaning-making powers and ownership of your core powers from which every skill is made enables you to act on your highest meanings and sacrilize your everyday activities.  That’s the synergy of self-actualization.  Would you like that?

The Creativity Dimension – Existential Self-Actualization

The focus in the third model is that of creativity.  Maslow described the first creativity is that of creating your self, that is, hearing your inner voice and unleashing your potentials (covered in the second module).  After that, your power of creativity does not end, it only shifts gear so that instead of creating your best self, you move outside of yourself to addressing the problems of the real or external world.  That’s why self-actualizing people are, by nature, highly creative and inventive. Unleashing your creative powers in creating your self now take a new form as you use them for problem-solving the problems that we have in human societies, businesses, governments, etc.

The third module is about creativity and innovation and to facilitate that we use four conversations- four well-formed conversations.  The first is the well-formed outcome conversation to set out a vision and mission.  Next is the well-formed problem conversation by which we identify and solve the problems that interfere with achieving our goals.  Next comes the well-formed solutions conversation wherein we brainstorm solutions and choose to fully invent the best solution.  Finally, the well-formed innovation conversation which, of course, is for innovating the solutions that transforms the problems and enables you to actualize the vision that you began with.  The result of this is a professional communication style that is a coaching facilitation style by which you become a highly skilled problem-solver.

The Leadership Dimension – Sociological Self-Actualization

The focus of the four module is on leadership.  After all, to unleash your own or another’s potentials for creative solutions is to bring out the best in yourself and/or others.  That’s what leadership is-bringing out the best in others and to lead to creating self-actualizing homes, businesses, communities, etc.  Self-actualizing leadership is situational and functional and is something everyone who is self-actualizing can do.  After all, we need good, caring, visionary, competent leaders in every home, every area of life, and at every level.  The result of this is the ability to create and innovate humanistic communities among any and all groups of people.

Self-Actualizing couples, families, businesses, associations, companies, and countries, however, do not just happen.  They have to be envisioned and then created by self-actualizing leaders.  And given the current crisis in leadership in every area and dimension of life, we really need much more mature and creative leaders in the world today.

These are the four dimensions of self-actualization that we present in the four trainings and when we combine them, this leads to a Diploma in Self-Actualization Psychology.  If you are interested, contact us.  The next one is this week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the one after that is in Johannesburg, South Africa. See the contact information below.

www.seekingthepeak.co.za

info@seekingthepeak.co.za – for a Description of the trainings also-

www.self-actualizing.org

The next trainings that I will be involved in for the entire series in 9 days is:

• May 25- June 1 — Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – contact jairo@pnl.med.br
• July 14-August 1 — Johannesburg, South Africa – contact — Barbara Walsh barbara@metaco.co.za
• In South Africa –  info@seekingthepeak.co.za

L. Michael Hall, Ph.D.

One of our purposes in Neuro-Semantics is to enable ourselves and others to actualize, or make real, our highest and best.  Highest refers to your highest visions about life, your values for how to live, and meanings for making life meaningful.  Best refers to your top performances, your best skills and competencies, and taking your actions so that they reflect you when you are in the zone of performance.  Yet to do that with mindfulness requires that we be able to assess where we are now and where we are as we progress, in other words, assessment of our self-actualization.  And that means creating benchmarks for self-actualizing development.

The first attempt to do this occurred in 1964 when Everett Shostrum met with Abraham Maslow and took the 15-17 characteristics of self-actualizing people, which had been discovered in over 20 years of modeling, and began to create behavioral indicators of those characteristics.  The result?  The POI, the Personal Orientation Inventory, a questionnaire of 150 force-choice questions around 10 subsidiary distinctions of living the self-actualizing life.  The POI was, and continues to be today, a well developed instrument for measurement and assessment.  And if it weren’t so expensive, I’d been promoting it in all we do in Neuro-Semantics, but alas, to take it and use it costs $128 for each person, each time.

When I complained about that some years ago (2009), Tim Goodenough challenged me to begin creating our own assessment scale.  In January 2010, Tim and I completed a prototype and ran it with the Leadership Team of Neuro-Semantics.  Since that time, we refined it, I wrote a description of it, and lo and behold, we have our very own Neuro-Semantic Self-Actualization Assessment Scale.  You can now find it on the website: https://legacy.neurosemantics.com/assessment-scale-form.

This Assessment Scale invites you to look at your driving needs— those lower and higher needs that drive your neurology, physiology, and psychological states of mind and emotion.  For each of the four lower needs and for the fifth level of self-actualization needs, you will find seven or more distinctions.  The scale invites you to gauge yourself in terms of how well are you adequately meeting your needs. Are you just “getting by?”  Then you would put a check in the middle.  If you are not getting by very well, then you will be to the left in the red zone.  If you are more than just getting by, you are thriving or optimizing, you will be to the right of the center line, in the green zone.

Getting by refers to being able to fulfil the need so that the drive goes away.  That’s how the lower needs work.  When adequate gratified by true-satisfiers (things that truly correspond to and fit the need), then the disequilibrium, the inner tension, the driving urge reduces and then vanishes from awareness.  That will be a first sign of using a true satisfier.  Another sign: energy!  Vitality.  You will feel good and be able to focus on the next-level needs.

If you are not using true-satisfiers, but false-satisfiers, then the drive doesn’t go away.  In fact, the drive for that need, whether food, drink, shelter, money, sex, etc. will dominate more and more.  You may become obsessive about it, and then compulsive in your actions.  False-satisfiers and false-beliefs about our needs, for us humans, will create neurotic needs.  We will semantically load the need with meanings, understandings, beliefs, etc. that the need cannot bear and the result we will become obsessive-compulsive about the need or some false-satisfier (drugs, money, gambling, etc.) and the false-gratification makes things worse.

Now you can assess where you are and how you are dealing with, handling, coping, and hopefully mastering your innate driving needs.  The lower needs are “animal” needs because the higher intelligent social animals have those needs as well— the need not only for survival and safety, but for connection, bonding, belong, and for recognition of their place in a group.  The mechanism that drives these lower needs is deficiency and so Maslow designated them, the D-needs.  These are the needs that do not go away until fulfilled.  And when fulfilled, they go away.

The higher or self-actualization needs are those which are with us from the beginning— in nascent form– but which become fully present to us as we fulfill the lower needs.  These are the uniquely human needs.  These are our needs for knowledge, meaning, understanding, beauty, order, mathematics, excellence, fairness, justice, contribution, making a difference, giving love, etc.  The mechanism governing these needs is abundance and being-ness.  Abundance means that when you gratify them, they grow.  They do not go away, they do the opposite— they expand and become fuller.  Being-ness means that unlike the lower needs that are instrumental needs, means to an end, these are non-instrumental, they are ends (not means).  These are for living in, for being, they are valid and satisfying in and of themselves.

So where are you?  Go and take the assessment.  It will take 30 minutes when you do it the first time and then you can print off the results.  Each time you do it thereafter, will go quicker and quicker as you get more acquainted with it.  If you need a Meta-Coach or a Neuro-Semanticist to work through the completed form with you— check out Trainers on www.neurosematics.com and Meta-Coaches on www.metacoachfoundation.org.

It is this assessment that we use in the Unleashing Vitality training and the next time I will do that training and all of the other three Self-Actualization trainings will be May in  Rio de Janiero, Brazil (May 25 to 31 and June 1-3). If you are interested, contact: Dr. Jairo Mancilha — jairo@pnl.med.br