Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-lrblm Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-03T02:43:01.072Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Beyond reductionism: Understanding motivational energization requires higher-order constructs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2025

Kennon M. Sheldon Open the ORCID record for Kennon M. Sheldon [Opens in a new window]  and
Richard M. Ryan
Kennon M. Sheldon*
Affiliation:
Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri [email protected] missouri.edu
Richard M. Ryan
Affiliation:
Australian Catholic University, Sydney, Australia [email protected] selfdeterminationtheory.org Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Korea
*
*Corresponding author.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

We argue that the target article's computational/reductionistic approach to motivation is insufficient to explain the energization of human behavior, because such explanation requires broad consideration of “what people are trying to do.” We illustrate what is gained by retaining (rather than jettisoning) higher-order motivation constructs and show that the authors’ approach assumes, but fails to name, such constructs.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 48 , 2025 , e44
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (1981). Attention and self-regulation: A control theory approach to human behavior. Springer-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McClelland, D. C., Koestner, R., & Weinberger, J. (1989). How do self-attributed and implicit motives differ? Psychological Review, 96(4), 690–702.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reeve, J., Ryan, R. M., Cheon, S. H., Matos, L., & Kaplan, H. (2022). Supporting students’ motivation: Strategies for success. Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. Guilford Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ryan, R. M., Duineveld, J. J., Di Domenico, S. I., Ryan, W. S., Steward, B. A., & Bradshaw, E. L. (2022). We know this much is (meta-analytically) true: A meta-review of meta-analytic findings evaluating self-determination theory. Psychological Bulletin, 148(11–12), 813–842.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sheldon, K. M. (2014). Becoming oneself: The central role of self-concordant goal selection. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 18(4), 349–365.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sheldon, K. M., & Schuler, J. (2011). Needing, wanting, and having: Integrating motive disposition theory and self-determination theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 101, 1106–1123.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wilson, E. O. (1998). Consilience: The unity of knowledge. Alfred Knopf.Google Scholar