What Causes (and Sustains) a Motivation Wave?
- 1. What causes (and sustains) a MOTIVATION!WAVE? Kelly Schmutte, 10. 23. 12
- 2. Hypothesis: Motivation Waves are CYCLICAL. Whether you ride one out for a bit, or crash soon after, it’s only a matter of time until you hit another one.
- 3. Riding the Wave (positive feedback loop) Trigger A variety of Accelerators in the Momentum Zone start to build toward a Motivation Wave. After the priming of the Accelerators, a final Trigger starts the Wave. The Motivation Wave can be sustained for awhile through a Positive Feedback Loop, but will eventually subside.
- 4. A variety of Accelerators in the Momentum Zone start to build toward a Motivation Wave. A key emotional component that ultimately drives the person to act is GUILT. Tangible Feedback (negative). Immediate, real-time feedback that one’s actions (or lack thereof) are of direct personal harm to oneself. Social Influence (negative). Being pressured out of guilt based on what one’s peers or surrounding community are doing. Social influence is tremendously powerful in motivating behavior, either from a negative or positive angle. People have an innate need to belong to a community, and will adopt all kinds of behaviors to achieve this sense of belonging. Decrease in Perceived Effort. A decline in what one thinks a given behavior is going to cost in terms of one’s time and energy. The more Accelerators, Sense of Agency. A sense that what one is doing is really making a difference. the higher the Wave amplitude. Sense of Agency Decrease in Perceived Effort Social Influence (negative) Tangible Feedback (negative)
- 5. After a person has been “primed” with one or more of these Accelerators, a Trigger will set the Motivation Wave in motion. The Trigger could come in any size, shape, or form, but simply removes the floodgates on the emotions and motivations that have been building in the Motivation Zone. Trigger Sense of Agency Decrease in Perceived Effort Social Influence (negative) Tangible Feedback (negative)
- 6. Social Influence (positive) Riding the Wave Sense of Agency Tangible Feedback (positive) (positive feedback loop) Decrease in Perceived Effort EMPOWERMENT A new set of Accelerators (all of which are the same forces as in the Momentum Zone, just from a positive angle) create the potential to keep a person riding high on the Motivation Wave. Tangible Feedback now serves to reinforce the behavior, and Social Influence helps to make a person feel positively enabled based on the encouragement and leadership of one’s friends, family, and community. Guilt, the overarching emotion in the Momentum Zone, has been replaced by a feeling of EMPOWERMENT. The Motivation Wave can be sustained for awhile through this Positive Feedback Loop, but will eventually subside.
- 7. AN!EXAMPLE… My co-workers have been so supportive. And Dan even invited me to go riding with him and the guys sometime. Motivation Wave for I really can control my figure. (Social Influence) (Sense of Agency) Kathy being more Riding the Wave My pants fit better, the scale is going down, and I just have so physically Biking is easier than I thought! And it seems (positive feedback much more energy! active like it gets easier every day. The showers at loop) (Tangible Feedback) work make it easier, too. (Decrease in Perceived Effort) Jenny invites me to bike to work with her and Jeff on Friday. I (If and when the positive feedback EMPOWERMENT decide to give biking a try for a couple weeks. loop subsides, Kathy will see the (Trigger) Motivation Wave die out and will eventually start the cycle again.) I’m not really trying, but I know I could lose weight biking if I just tried it. (Sense of Agency) Dan got me that new bike for Christmas and I know it’s comfortable and easy to ride. More are more people are (Decrease in Perceived Effort) biking to work since they I notice I’ve gained weight and started that incentive my pants are tight. program. (Tangible Feedback) (Social Influence)