Self-determined behaviour
If you’re reading this, it’s probably because you want to. I’m guessing that you might be interested in psychology. Perhaps you even work in marketing and can see the benefit of applying psychology. The point is that nobody told you to read this; there is no exam!
The most effective and committed behaviours result from people being interested in the task (relatedness), choosing to undertake the task themselves (autonomous), and feeling able to complete the task (competence). Psychologists refer to such behaviours as being motivated intrinsically.
The terms intrinsic and extrinsic come from a theory known as self-determination theory (SDT). SDT was developed many years ago by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan. The theory differentiates broadly between behaviour that is internally-driven (intrinsic) and that which is guided by external reward or punishment (extrinsic). Generally-speaking, the theory suggests that intrinsic behaviour is more likely to lead to longer-term commitment. Social marketers seeking changes to behaviour are therefore keen to develop techniques that encourage intrinsic behaviour.
For example, I recently worked with a local authority to use Self Determination Theory (SDT) to understand motivation in relation to driving cars. Cars undoubtedly offer many benefits, but they also contribute to pollution and congestion within our cities. Many national and local governments around the world are therefore trying to reduce car use where alternatives are available, but this often focuses on fines and penalties (extrinsic sources of motivation). SDT suggests that reduction in car use would be more likely if motivated intrinsically.
However, our research found that the strongest motive for driving less is ‘identified’ motivation: a blend of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation where a person ‘identifies’ the personal benefit of adopting a new behaviour to meet their own own goals. This therefore presents an opportunity to help people to understand how adoption of a new behaviour (alternatives to driving) will benefit them.
The big opportunity for applying SDT to a behaviour change campaign is really to help people feel motivated adopt a behaviour because they want to. To achieve this in your campaigns, try to encourage a sense of curiosity and help people to feel pride and mastery when they do make a change.
Photo by Jakub Čihák on Unsplash
