Theories of Motivation- Literature Review 3

Motivation itself has a full on connection to why ballet dancers keep on dancing. They are always willing to go through and face the pressures of the industry because they have goals or dreams to conquer that are more important than dealing with the hardships.

This fantastic source of literature gives an in depth explanation on all the different types of the unconscious and conscious motivations. Here I have typed out some of my own notes and pointers, exploring the relations of these theories in ballet dancers.

Intrinsic motivation- Driven by interest and enjoyment of task itself, ‘exists within individual’ (own accord/choice)

Þ   Dancers express feelings from within

Extrinsic motivation- comes from outside the individual, when you perform an activity in order to gain an outcome

Þ   Can lead to over-justification and reduction of interest in intrinsic motivations/desirability within

Þ   However with some extrinsic boundaries, can enhance the desirability of activity

*More rewarding for themselves to dance?

*Do the extrinsic benefits, motives contribute them to keep going?

Push Factors - Connected with internal forces (e.g. need for something)

                           -Stimulated by external and situational aspects of motivation

Pull Factors   - External factors that create desirability for that activity/goal

°As several motives can occur at the same time, you can’t assume that only one motive drives an individual to perform an action

How does this all connect to professional ballet?

·      Dancers feel the internal forces, and need/desire to dance (intrinsic and/or push)

o   Feeling ‘whole,’ express feelings, creativity, enjoyment, food for the soul, passion and love for it, adrenalin, and emotions to express

·      Extrinsic/pull factors are included too

o   Job, keeps body fit, pays salary, fame, competition, promotion, and certain roles, music?

*What is a more effective type of motivation? Intrinsic or extrinsic? Push or pull   factors?

*Is a balance between the two involved, to keep dancers going?

Drive or Desire

“A deficiency or need that activated behaviour that is aimed at a goal or an incentive.” (Drive-Dictionary.com)

A drive/desire originates from an individual’s feelings and doesn’t require external incentives to stimulate their behaviour.

*Relation:

-       When not dancing, an inner desire is established to want to dance (Injury, on holiday etc.)

-       Deficient in a certain move, e.g. if challenging, the dancer will act upon it and be motivated to practice?

Another perspective- Drive-reduction theory:

Where strength of drive increases if it is not satisfied, and once satisfied there is less of a desire to perform that activity/behaviour.

E.g. after dancing you become tired- After a long day of dancing generally you feel satisfied, which leads on a desire to rest afterwards because that is what you lack at that point in time…

Incentive theory

When a reward is presented after an action/behaviour has happened, with the intention for it to occur again

Þ   Positive meaning to the behaviour

Þ   More immediate the reward, greater the effect

Þ   Repetitive reward- becomes a habit.

(Does it become a habit to dance? - class, certain warm up, exercises result in the reward to dance better?)

Motivation + Behaviour- influenced by beliefs.

-       Engage in activity that is believed to increase/gain reward, goal or feelings

*What rewards do ballet dancers feel they gain once they have danced in?:

-       Class

-       Warm up or exercise

-       Rehearsals

-       Performing, on the stage

-       Other exercise

*Do any dancers feel it is now a habit at a professional level?

*Is it based on belief that dancing will bring reward? How do they judge what is rewarding? Moral values...

Incentive theory= Positive reinforcement

The stimulation leads to creating/conditioned to make the person happier or satisfied

Þ   Dancing releases endorphins, and feelings of wholeness

Þ   Stretching more to achieve goal of higher legs

Þ   Practicing to achieve a tricky movement/piece of choreography

Drive= Negative Reinforcement

Stimulation to carry on knowing it will remove the punishment

Þ   Do class every day to improve technique, so improves lines and aesthetics of your movement

Þ   Exercise to keep strong and reduce risk of injury

Þ   Rest to eliminate pain from injury

“For those who received no extrinsic reward, self determination theory proposes that extrinsic motivation can be internalized by the individual if the task fits with their values and beliefs, and therefore helps to fulfill their basic psychological needs.”

This article moves on to reflecting how motivation derives from providing an individual’s needs.

Motivation:  “The process used to allocate energy to maximize the satisfaction of needs” (Pritchard and Ashwood definition)

*Reflecting upon articles, my pilot interviews, discussion and my own experience, the inner feelings in the enjoyment to dance comes with a ‘need’ to- giving the reason of ‘just because!’

I feel this can suggest that if you want to satisfy a need, you will act upon it and allocate time and effort towards that need. Ballet dancers will dance to satisfy their need to move… well this is how I feel!

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

“People are motivated by unsatisfied needs”

1.     Physiological (hunger, thirst, sleep)

2.     Safety/security/health

3.     Belongingness/love/friendship

4.     Self-esteem/recognition/achievement

5.     Self actualization

As a human being, we can relate to motivating ourselves to provide us with these needs.

*How does dancing fit into this? Do ballet dancers feel that their profession provides them with all of these?

Maslow believes ‘only unsatisfied needs influence behaviour’ and action.

Point of note: as ballet especially strives for that never attainable perfection, is this why they always want to improve and push forward? Is it the case where they are instantly trying to satisfy the needs of perfection, which will technically always be unsatisfied to some extent?

*Idea:

To test whether ballet/dance provides basic needs to professional dancers, give list of the 16 basic desires and ask them to tick which they feel provide them.

Herzberg’s two-factor theory

Factors in the workplace that create job satisfaction

Motivators: challenging work, responsibility, recognition

Þ   Working on challenging choreo, roles in a ballet, representing a company, leading a group piece

Hygiene Factors: Status, job security, salary- doesn’t necessarily motivate but is de-motivating when absent.

Þ   Injury creating lck in job security

Þ   No job/unemployed/contract cuts

Þ   Rejection in auditions

Þ   Salary cutbacks due to lack of funding in the arts

Self-determination theory: Elements

•       Humans are inherently proactive with their potential and mastering their inner forces (such as drive and emotions).

•       Humans have an inherent tendency towards growth, development and integrated functioning.

•       Optimal development and actions are inherent in humans but they do not happen automatically.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivation- self determination theory)

Goal setting theory

When an individual has a drive to reach a certain goal or clearly defined end state- often a reward in itself

Þ   Relates to the idea of how ballet dancers motivate themselves to overcome challenges, achieve their goals to perhaps feel rewarded?

Models of behavioural change:

When there is a new, unexpressed behaviour, there might be a change in the behaviour that can seem or become more important than the current motivation. Main causes:

•                Instigation (Ts) - increases tendency when an activity has intrinsic ability to satisfy;

•                Inhibition (Taf) - decreases tendency when there are obstacles to performing an activity; and

•                Consummation - decreases a tendency as it is performed.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motivation- Models of behaviour change)

*Are there behavioural changes in ballet, when it comes to motivation?

Attribution theory

A process by which an individual believes how the causes of success and failure affect motivations from emotions

Þ   Intrapersonal- self directed emotions and thoughts from one’s self/feelings

Þ   Interpersonal- Beliefs about responsibility of others and their impact on other’s emotions

*Talks about seeking positive feedback from failures- used as motivation

Þ   Use emotion from failure to motivate, to then fix it and succeed

*Dancers deal with constant failure, but they are known to be self drive, that these failure could perhaps help keep them going?

*To be so self driven- a vital attribute to have as a ballerina?