On the Psychological Meaning of Information About Competence: A Reply to Ryan and Deci's Comment on Butler (1987)

Ruth Butler*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

The comment by Ryan and Deci (1989) addresses a study (Butler, 1987) in which I investigated the motivational effects of different kinds of information. Findings were related to several issues, including the different emphases of Nicholls's theory of task/ego involvement and their cognitive evaluation theory. Ryan and Deci's comment on my article reflects cognitive evaluation theory's emphasis on perceived autonomy as the major determinant of intrinsic motivation. I discuss certain methodological and conceptual limitations of their approach in understanding the impact of different achievement goals and competence strivings on intrinsically motivated behavior. I suggest that it would be fruitful to work toward a synthesis between cognitive evaluation theory and achievement theory that would clarify the relation between perceptions of autonomy and conceptions of competence. Such a synthesis should be helpful in achieving their common aim of promoting task-involved, intrinsically motivated learning in the classroom.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)269-272
Number of pages4
JournalJournal of Educational Psychology
Volume81
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 1989

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