Motivating others to behave in certain ways is one of the most prevalent aspects of human existence and one of the least understood. Maybe this is why people look for short cuts or over simplified approaches or "silver bullets" to motivation. The truth is there is no "silver bullet" to motivation. In the previous blog I explained motivation from the basic psychological processes that take place in individuals, resulting in effort toward specific behavior. I mentioned reappraisal as a tool of inspiration, that is, the way to get an individual to put forth more effort without a change in the existing reward exchange.
Reappraisal is a key component of emotion regulation in which an individual rethinks or reframes a situation or event in such a way that negative felt emotions decrease and/or positive felt emotions increase. Reappraisal is an especially effective way to deal with negative felt emotions, since suppressing them creates stress and acting on them creates havoc. In this blog we will look at reappraisal relative to its contribution to inspiration. Typically after one learns what and why something is, they want to know how. So lets examine ways a behavior can be reappraised so that more effort will likely be the outcome of our influencing intent. Reappraisal is a practice one can do themselves or can help another do (one aspect of leadership).
First, there should be an inventory of the key positive and negative outcomes of the behavior of interest. For instance, physical exercise results in
Positive: lower weight, better cardio, more attractive physically
Negative: sweaty, tired, takes time, usually have to got o gym
Next, find thoughts or ideas about why the positive may be even more positive than they are. This involves seeing how these benefits are instrumental to even greater benefits, such as losing weight leads to living longer which leads to seeing my kids and grand kids in certain important life events such as marriage and having kids. Along with seeing positive outcomes as paths to more positive outcomes, examine the negative outcomes and see if a different way of thinking about them make them less negative. For instance, becoming sweaty is not comfortable or attractive, but sweating does cleanse pores and makes a shower feel very good. Lessening the impact of negative outcomes by seeing positive in them may also involve seeing problems as opportunities, a popular reappraisal technique.
Third, seeing immediate action or inaction in light of future consequences helps one see that short term benefit may produce a future unfavorable consequence. Effort on a behavior is increased when short gain from failing to act does not compare favorably with long term gain available by acting now with not-so-positive outcome. This reapprasial approach enhances the individual's sense of delayed gratification. When someone chooses to exercise today or for the full hour, although they do not feel like, so that they can lose 20 pounds over 6 months, they have been inspired to exercise through effective reappraisal. Delayed gratification is especially helpful for dogmatic individuals who generally focus on immediate outcomes because of the ambiguity in dealing with the risks and uncertainties of the future.
Effective reappraisal for an individual is subject to the motivation orientation of the individual. There are two motivational strategies people employ. One strategy is to avoid situations where they can be seen as failing or incompetent. This occurs when people have a fear of failure or are overly anxious about what others will think if they do not do well (such as test anxiety). The other strategy is an approach strategy where an individual will be concerned about not receiving an outcome that they desire. In this case the individual will seek out opportunities to achieve, seeing that failure is more about not trying for the reward (approach) than not being good enough to get the reward (avoidance). An individual may have one or the other as the strongest tendency or he/she may have both tendencies competing with each other for their motivational strategy. Research shows that there is some imbalance in the strength of these tendencies in that avoidance generally has more effect on motivation than approach. Thus, we might say this about reappraisal, in general
Getting another person to do something you want is generally not as much about them receiving more of what is good, but less of what is bad.
If reappraisal is about rethinking things so felt emotions improve, we must take a brief look at the most common types of psychological processes that result in felt emotions. Some of the key factors that cause individuals to feel the way they do about their behavior and the outcomes of their behavior are (1) fairness, (2) proximity, (3) legitimacy, (4) comfort, and (5) commitment. While all individuals use these factors in making judgments that cause them to feel certain ways about what they do, different individual experiences and characteristics, such as personality, age, sex, and religious beliefs, can cause each factor to be more or less influential in the formation of felt emotion. This is an exhaustive topic, so i will only touch the highlights here.
Fairness may be the preeminent concern of humans. The problem is there are multiple norms of fairness (equity, equality, and needs) that people use to make their judgment, and each individual has subjective views on each of those. This ambiguity around "what is fair" makes clarification an imperative in reappraisal. Regarding motivation, an individual needs to conclude that what they are doing is fair and that what they are doing will be treated fairly by others to feel more positive about the behavior. Rethinking one or both of these will result in more effort.
Proximity is the perspective of immediacy of a behavioral outcome. It is the judgment one makes about whether I should do this now or not. The way a person deals with delayed gratification and the way they deal with uncertainty are two individual differences that can influence the notion of urgency. An individual's patience generally contributes to willingness to act now for benefits that may come later. Dogmatic people struggle with the uncertainties of the future and will generally focus on what is right before them because then they perceive less risks, knowing exactly what they are dealing with. Feedback that elevates the importance of acting now to make the future right helps reframe behavior so that more effort is likely provided.
Legitimacy is the sense that what i am doing is normal. It is a form of emotional comfort, satisfying the need to avoid blame or shame. Often the consequences of a behavior that are the most important for someone is whether others accept them, not whether the behavior produces "the best" outcome. This would be even more pronounced for those individuals who are socially cued, looking to others for clues on what they should or should not do and looking to what effect one's own behavior has on others. Legitimacy is particularly constraining on behavior when change is involved because it attaches one to the status quo. Making new ideas and ways of doing things less risky helps individuals feel better and willing to act accordingly. This area of reappraisal is especially critical in selling. Getting another to purchase and use your products/services requires behavioral change, which requires the participant of the change to satisfy his/her own need for legitimacy.
Physical comfort has a significant role on individuals' emotions. Pleasure and pain are strong emotions that demand immediacy. Since comfort is more physiologically based than cognitive, it may be more difficult to alter the emotional outcome through reappraisal. However, having someone consider the longer term benefits of momentary pain (like getting a vaccination) or longer term pain from momentary pleasure (like spontaneous sex with a stranger) are opportunities for reappraisal to affect someone's effort toward specific behaviors.
Commitment represents the emotional attachment one has with a behavioral outcome. The use of goals is the most popular technique to strengthen an individual's commitment to behavior. This is especially true for task oriented, high achievers. Goal commitment generally occurs when a person has some voice in the goal (especially independent individuals), the goal is challenging, the goal is specific (especially dogmatic individuals), and the person perceives he/she has sufficient control over the outcome. Competitive goals get the attention of competitive individuals, but may not work well for more independent individuals or those with dominant avoidance motivational tendencies. Performance goals can be problematic when external factors in the environment have a lot to do with determining the outcome. This reduces perceived control, especially for those with an external locus of control (see outcomes as a result of luck, destiny, or actions of others) combined with a high need for control.
I apologize for this blog being lengthy and challenging your comprehension. I cannot help that reappraisal's role in inspiration is so complex.
Transformation depends on effective reappraisal!!
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