Life is always walking up to us and saying, "Come on in, the living's fine," and what do we do? Back off and take its picture. ~Russell Baker
Human behavior can be predicted by experiential models. In other words, past behavior is an excellent predictor of future behavior. An individual will consistently choose that action and environment which has successfully fulfilled a past need, and will avoid that action or environment which has brought about bad results in their past, if all factors remain consistent. However, if one or more factors change, i.e. the current environment becomes untenable, or an opportunistic environment presents itself AND the individual chooses to act, a new pattern of behavior may be established. In other words, the individual has changed and has learned by experience.
Human behavior and the creation of self, or will, begins at birth as the child starts its journey in the world. Humans are born with the desire to master their environment and to act upon the strong instinctive or emotional urges within them. Children who are encouraged to experience the world as being an opportunistic environment, to make increasingly self-directed choices, and to experience the consequences, go on to develop strong willpower and self-determination. They develop sense that they are able to change their environment to meet their needs or to seek out whatever environment holds the greatest opportunity to meet their needs. These children will, over time, develop skills, adaptive traits, and cognitive traits that predict success. In contrast, children who are deprived of the concept of opportunistic environments, and who are forced to conform to rigid rules, go on to develop natures that are mainly responsive to their environments. These children will lack essential traits for future success in all but their current environment.
There are many key elements involved in the successful adaption of humans to their environment. The greatest is self-motivation. What motivates people? Two simple models provide the answer. Theory one (mechanistic theory) states that humans are passive organisms and are simply reactive to events outside themselves; humans do not initiate change, they simply react to changes in their environment. Theory two (organismic theory) states that humans are self-motivated and are driven by their internal physical and psychological needs; humans initiate change and seek out environments wherein they can satisfy their unique, personal needs.
All humans seek to satisfy certain instinctive drives including sex, aggression, hunger, thirst, and the avoidance of pain. Any particular person can practice both mechanistic and organismic theories of motivation. In fact, most people practice both but tend to consistently use one or the other in various categories of their lives. For instance, the mechanistic theory of motivation paints a simple picture equal to that of Pavlov’s dogs, wherein an otherwise unmotivated animal will become motivated after being trained to react in a certain manner to certain stimuli. For humans this can be compared to their actions after viewing media advertising for an especially appetizing pizza – let’s order a pizza delivery!
Organismic motivation moves beyond the simple model of stimulus-response to include the factor of the human will. This model states that humans are self-motivated according to their personal will and exercise certain personality traits that enable them to effectively meet their needs. In successfully meeting those needs, they experience an affirmation of success that rewards them and increases their level of self-motivation; a self-perpetuating cycle. The specific human personality traits involved include rational processes, exploration, play, and volitional responding. This essentially means that a human’s unique personality provides him or her with the energy and drive necessary to succeed in meeting their needs in any environment, and according to their own self-determined will.
The greatest factor in human motivation is the power of the human will. Difficult to put into specific terms, the human will encompasses decision-making, autonomy, and choice. The human will also encompasses the uniquely human act of self-direction. This is present whenever a person, provided with an opportunity to act upon an instinctive or self-determined need, firstly activates the internal process of self-direction. Alternately, this is also present whenever a person makes changes that bring about an opportunistic environment geared towards meeting their needs. This internal process of self-determination enables the person to perceive a need, observe or create an opportunity, analyze their own personal concept of self-direction against that opportunity, imagine the future outcomes of acting upon the need and opportunity, and take action consistent with all of these factors. Outside observers are unable to witness this process and will simply observe an individual in action. But this process of decision-making and action according self-determination is present and can be simply termed the human will.
As the individual ages, their personal will changes according to life experiences. Change is constant and each individual makes the choices as to how he or she will respond to new challenges. Given the two motivational models explained above, will he or she choose a passive response? Or an active response?
On a daily basis, we all practice active responses to our changing environment. It rains, so we put on a raincoat when leaving home. Our boss at work assigns additional work, so we put in a few more hours at the office. Our last child leaves for college, so we adjust our lives and home to the loss. All of these are changes that we can reasonably anticipate and for which most people are reasonably able to adjust and eventually become comfortable. But what about the unanticipated, unprepared for, changes in our lives that take us completely by surprise? How will we react and what will be our eventual mode of adjustment and what type of motivational model will take us there?
After experiencing any significant change, expected or not, an individual will first seek to find balance by referring to their unique, personal will (or self-determination.) Mechanistically motivated individuals may respond by simply not responding at all. Or they may seek the least uncomfortable position that meets their basic needs. Organisimically motivated individuals may respond by recognizing that the change is not offering them the opportunistic environment they desire in order to fulfill their self-determined needs. They may actively respond by either attempting to conform the changed environment to their will or by seeking a different environment that is to their liking. If the significant change is far beyond their control, such as an unexpected job loss during a prolonged period of national economic decline, the organisimistically motivated individual will recognize that the second option is their best choice. They will make changes that will bring about an opportunistic environment that will put them back on their self-determined track.
Self-determination is a critical function of the autonomous self. Without it, we would all be members of some Star Trek-like Borg universe. For various reasons (emotional, mental health, physical illness, etc.) some individuals find it especially difficult to recognize the need for personal change in response to their changing environments, even when those environmental changes bring pain and suffering to them. Change is always difficult but eventually, if conditions persist long enough or worsen to the person’s breaking point, even the most reluctant individual will recognize the need to change in order to adapt.
New studies on the concept of self-determination (Self-determination Theory (SDT) http://www.psicologia-uniroma4.it/LS/organizzazione/materiale/cap-49-3-182%5B1%5D.pdf ) show that two distinct forms of self-motivation are at work in most individuals. They are autonomous motivation and controlled motivation. Similar to the description of mechanistic motivation above, controlled motivation is defined as an individual’s reaction to an external stimulus and is comprised of behaviors designed to avoid shame and to retain basic self-esteem and balance. Individuals who react to change in this manner will tend to feel pressured to think and feel or behave in a tightly controlled manner. They may react harshly to change, practice blaming, refuse to personally adjust, and experience a great deal of distress.
Similar to the description of organismic motivation above, individuals who practice autonomous motivation practice self-determination, are willing to adapt to change, accept their place within the larger society, and seek to improve their lives.
Additionally, all individuals display one or more of three forms of individual differences in their perspectives to the outside world: 1) autonomous orientation; 2) controlled orientation; and 3) impersonal orientation. Autonomous orientation, just as its name implies, indicates that an individual feels a great deal of personal autonomy (strong self-determination). Controlled orientation indicates that an individual does have a good degree of personal autonomy but is constrained by personal beliefs which cause them to be inflexible, rigid in their reactions, to blame outside forces, and to feel stressed because of their inability to effectively handle changes. Impersonal orientation is best described as an individual who practices little self-determination, is passive, and reacts to outside influences passively.
- Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change - this is the rhythm of living. Out of our over-confidence, fear; out of our fear, clearer vision, and fresh hope. And out of hope, progress.
Bruce Barton - Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.
Leo Tolstoy - If we don't change, we don't grow. If we don't grow, we aren't really living.
Gail Sheehy - If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.
Maya Angelou - Sometimes it’s the smallest decisions that can change your life forever.
Keri Russell - Things do not change; we change.
Henry David Thoreau
We all have big changes in our lives that are more or less a second chance.
Harrison Ford - When you are through changing, you are through.
Bruce Barton - There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative.
W. Clement Stone
- The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
Winston Churchill
- Fear less, hope more. Eat less, chew more. Whine less, breathe more. Talk less, say more. Love more, and all good things will be yours.
Swedish Proverb
- A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the while.
Herm Albright
- When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than any talent for abstract, positive thinking.
Albert Einstein
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