Human beings can be proactive and engaged or, alternatively, passive and alienated, largely as a function of the social conditions in which they develop and function. Accordingly, research guided by self-determination theo~ has focused on the social-contextual conditions that facilitate versus forestall the natural processes of self-motivation and healthy psychological development. Specifically, factors have been examined that enhance versus undermine intrinsic motivation, self-regulation, and well-being. The findings have led to the postulate of three innate psychological needs--competence, autonomy, and relatednesswhich when satisfied yield enhanced self-motivation and mental health and when thwarted lead to diminished motivation and well-being. Also considered is the significance of these psychological needs and processes within domains such as health care, education, work, sport, religion, and psychotherapy. T he fullest representations of humanity show people to be curious, vital, and self-motivated. At their best, they are agentic and inspired, striving to learn; extend themselves; master new skills; and apply their talents responsibly. That most people show considerable effort, agency, and commitment in their lives appears, in fact, to be more normative than exceptional, suggesting some very positive and persistent features of human nature. Yet, it is also clear that the human spirit can be diminished or crushed and that individuals sometimes reject growth and responsibility. Regardless of social strata or cultural origin, examples of both children and adults who are apathetic, alienated, and irresponsible are abundant. Such non-optimal human functioning can be observed not only in our psychological clinics but also among the millions who, for hours a day, sit passively before their televisions, stare blankly from the back of their classrooms, or wait listlessly for the weekend as they go about their jobs. The persistent, proactive, and positive tendencies of human nature are clearly not invariantly apparent. The fact that human nature, phenotypically expressed, can be either active or passive, constructive or indolent, suggests more than mere dispositional differences and is a function of more than just biological endowments. It also bespeaks a wide range of reactions to social environments that is worthy of our most intense scientific investigation. Specifically, social contexts catalyze both within- and between-person differences in motivation and personal growth, resulting in people being more self-motivated, energized, and integrated in some situations, domains, and cultures than in others. Research on the conditions that foster versus undermine positive human potentials has both theoretical import and practical significance because it can contribute not only to formal knowledge of the causes of human behavior but also to the design of social environments that optimize people's development, performance, and well-being. Research guided by self-determination theory (SDT) has had an ongoing concern with precisely these

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Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being.

자연주의적 탐구조사(Naturalistic Inquiry)

Basics of qualitative research: Grounded theory procedures and techniques

A science of positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions promises to improve quality of life and prevent the pathologies that arise when life is barren and meaningless, The exclusive focus on pathology that has dominated so much of our discipline results in a model of the human being lacking the positive features that make life worth living. Hope, wisdom, creativity, future mindedness, courage, spirituality, responsibility, and perseverance are ignored or explained as transformations of more authentic negative impulses. The 15 articles in this millennial issue of the American Psychologist discuss such issues as what enables happiness, the effects of autonomy and self-regulation, how optimism and hope affect health, what constitutes wisdom, and how talent and creativity come to fruition. The authors outline a framework for a science of positive psychology, point to gaps in our knowledge, and predict that the next century will see a science and profession that will come to understand and build the factors that allow individuals, communities, and societies to flourish.

https://psycnet.apa.org/journals/amp/55/1/5.pdf

Positive psychology: An introduction.

Emerging adulthood is proposed as a new conception of development for the period from the late teens through the twenties, with a focus on ages 18-25. A theoretical background is presented. Then evidence is provided to support the idea that emerging adulthood is a distinct period demographically, subjectively, and in terms of identity explorations. How emerging adulthood differs from adolescence and young adulthood is explained. Finally, a cultural context for the idea of emerging adulthood is outlined, and it is specified that emerging adulthood exists only in cultures that allow young people a prolonged period of independent role exploration during the late teens and twenties.

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Emerging adulthood. A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties.

Seven hundred and fifty-three observations were collected on 25 adolescents at random times during an average week. The observations consisted of self-reports completed in response to an electronic pager. The study was aimed at the question: What is the experience of time alone like for adolescents? The results suggest a complex but consistent relationship: while aloneness is generally a negative experience, those adolescents who spend a moderate amount of time alone (about 30 % of their waking time) tend to show better overall adjustment than adolescents who are either never alone or spend more than the optimal proportion of time alone. Alienation and average moods showed inverse linear or quadratic relationships with amount of time alone. These results are discussed in terms of the possible psychosocial functions of aloneness at the adolescent stage of the life cycle.

Experiential Correlates of Time Alone in Adolescence

The premise of this paper is that an important component of the value of sport is the experience it provides: the moods, feelings, and self-perceptions that occur in sports contexts. The Experience Sampling Method (ESM) was used to monitor the ongoing experience of 75 adolescents. Sport was compared with other activities in terms of concentration, mood, self-consciousness and sense of skill, challenge and control. Three different sport contexts were distinguished and compared—organized sport, informal sport, and physical education class. These three contexts were contrasted, and results interpreted in terms of the “flow model” of enjoyment and optimal experience (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975). Sport was experienced as substantially more positive than the rest of everyday life. Sense of control was highest in gym class and lowest in informal sport; sense of skill was highest in informal sport and lowest in gym class; and significantly more was perceived to be at stake in organized sport than in informal...

Variations of Experience in Formal and Informal Sport

Decades of scientific research shows that intrinsic motivation (IM) is a powerful "engine" of learning and positive development. This chapter synthesizes the research, first showing how the psychological state of IM is associated not only with enhanced engagement and perseverance in an activity, but also with greater use of meta-cognitive strategies and deeper processing of information. These features likely account for evidence that IM is related to greater and more effective learning. Second, we examine the determinants of this beneficial state. Evidence suggests that it results from the convergence of factors at multiple levels--from immediate conditions in the activity to longer-term personal goals, cultural values, and human dispositions. Drawing on these findings, we show that there is considerable potential for young people to develop their abilities to experience and regulate their IM within activities. In the third and final section, we then discuss how youth professionals can work with youth to help them cultivate the capacity for intrinsically motivated learning. We present ten guiding principles for cultivating IM derived from the research. We give particular attention to adolescence, because it is a period when youth become more able to engage in this deliberate cultivation--to be producers of their own development.

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Intrinsic motivation and positive development

The socialization of children and adolescents is shaped by how they spend their time. This special issue maps the daily experience of white American 5th–9th graders, describing both the quantities of time they spend in different contexts and the affective states associated with these contexts. Each paper examines a separate segment of daily activity (e.g., schoolwork, talking, sports), employing data from a common study in which 401 participants provided “experience sampling” reports at random times during their daily lives when cued by a pager. The findings show substantial age and sex differences, indicating significant changes in the daily “life space” of girls and boys between preadolescence and early adolescence. Implication for socialization to healthy adult adjustment in love, work, and play are discussed in each paper.

Introduction: The changing life space of early adolescence.

The systemic structure of a school provides opportunities for both prosocial and antisocial behavior. Actions in a school may be motivated by (1) the extrinsic mechanisms of discipline and grades, (2) the means-end relationship of school behavior to students’ long-term goals, and (3) the immediate intrinsic satisfactions obtainable in different activities. This chapter treats the third type, intrinsic motivation. Using previous research, the authors propose that the state of enjoyment occurs when a person is challenged at a level matched to his level of skills. According to the model, the experience of meetable challenges requires the perception of a constrained set of possible actions, clearly defined goals, and opportunities for unambiguous feedback. The system of rules in a formal game provides these prerequisites. The systemic structure of a school can also provide the conditions of enjoyable involvement. Ideally, learning should involve systemic involvement in sequences of challenges internalized by students. However, evidence indicates that such involvement is rare and is often subverted by the school itself. Without such opportunities, antisocial behavior provides an alternate framework of challenges for bored students. Disruption of classes, vandalism, and violence in schools are, in part, attempts by adolescents to obtain enjoyment in otherwise lifeless schools. Restructuring education in terms of intrinsic motivation would not only reduce school crime but would also accomplish the goal of teaching youths how to enjoy life constructively.

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Reed W. Larson

Papers

Experiential Correlates of Time Alone in Adolescence

Variations of Experience in Formal and Informal Sport

Intrinsic motivation and positive development

Introduction: The changing life space of early adolescence.

Intrinsic Rewards in School Crime