994 publications from this institution
Millions of people throughout the world are highly involved in sports as athletes, coaches, or spectators. Children start at very young ages trying to hit a softball, catch a football, or stand up on ice skates. Recent figures indicate that over 20 million school-aged Americans play organized sports (Magill, Ash, & Smoll, 1978). Furthermore, the percentage of girls involved in sports although still small, is steadily growing. Adults are no less involved in athletics, though their participation tends to be as coaches and spectators. Sports is one of the most frequent topics of conversation during coffee breaks and lunch hours, and games such as the Super Bowl have more television viewers than virtually any other programs.
No abstract is provided for this article.
We examine the effects of weekend versus weekday and work versus nonwork experiences on mood and other well-being indicators in a sample of 74 men and women employed in a wide variety of occupations. It was hypothesized that both weekends and nonworking times would be associated with enhanced well-being, and that these relations would be mediated by greater satisfaction of autonomy and relatedness needs. In addition, we hypothesized that much of the weekend effect would be accounted for by the work versus nonwork contrast, given that work activities are expected to be associated with a lower sense of autonomy and relatedness than nonwork activities. Results supported these hypotheses, showing that for both male and female workers, weekend and nonwork activities were associated with several indicators of well-being, and these relations were partially or fully mediated by basic psychological need satisfaction. The findings are discussed in terms of mood variability and the implications of free time and work for workers' well-being.
Every teacher and every parent faces the question of how to foster more versus less motivation in students. Theories of motivation, accordingly, must be able to both describe the nature of human motivation, and prescribe methods by which it can be fostered or undermined. However, because most prior theories of motivation have conceptualized motivation as a unitary phenomenon, one that varies from very little motivation to act to a great deal of it, they have been critically hamstrung in providing any practical advice to educators and parents.
No abstract is provided for this article.
Among the most important concerns of people across the globe are issues of freedom and control. Indeed, despite some horrific exceptions, the modern world is trending toward greater human rights, tolerance for diversity, and allowance for individual choices in vocations and lifestyles. Everywhere people fight against oppression and dictatorial controls, and groups that have been stigmatized struggle for equal rights and respect. At a more individual level, people move during their development toward greater self-regulation. They suffer under excessively controlling caregivers, teachers, clinicians, coaches, and bosses. In general, people are more likely to thrive and be positively engaged and motivated in settings where they are empowered and feel a sense of autonomy.
No abstract is provided for this article.
No abstract is provided for this article.
Within the solitude literature, two discrete constructs reflect different perspectives on how time spent alone is motivated. Self-determined motivation for solitude reflects wanting time alone to find enjoyment and gain meaningful benefits from it, whereas preference for solitude concerns wanting time for oneself over others' company regardless of reasons for why time alone is wanted. We investigated two personality characteristics: introversion from Big-Five personality theory and dispositional autonomy from self-determination theory. In two diary studies university students completed personality measures and reported about their experiences with time spent alone over a period of seven days. Across both studies, contrary to popular belief that introverts spend time alone because they enjoy it, results showed no evidence that introversion is predictive of either preference or motivation for solitude. Dispositional autonomy-the tendency to regulate from a place of self-congruence, interest, and lack of pressure-consistently predicted self-determined motivation for solitude but was unrelated to preference for solitude. These findings provided evidence supporting the link between valuing time spent alone with individual differences in the capacity to self-regulate in choiceful and authentic way.
