THE SCIENCE OF MOTIVATION & APPLYING IT TO HABITS
Motivation has been anecdotally referred to as the “secret sauce” for seeing, and keeping, results in the fitness journey. Influencers, coaches, and athletes alike “make it look so easy” because they seem constantly motivated. By similar logic, lack of motivation is often the scapegoat for stalls in progress. So what is the science behind motivation? Is it really a prerequisite for sustaining a healthy lifestyle? Let’s dive in.
STARTING WITH THE RESEARCH
In 2011, a study was conducted on how two different types of motivation influence learning (Murayama & Elliot, 2011). Two groups of participants performed a problem-solving task: one group with the goal of MASTERY, the other with a goal of PERFORMANCE compared to other participants.
The participants in the Performance group showed better memory and cognitive ability initially, but when both groups were assessed one week later, participants in the Mastery group showed better memory performance overall.
Let’s come back to that. What about reward systems? Social psychology says extrinsic rewards can sometimes undermineintrinsic motivation. This is called the undermining effect, and it means extrinsic rewards are not always beneficial for learning, especially if someone is truly interested in the task at hand.
A 2010 study using neuroimaging showed less activation in the reward network of the brain when participants were given a performance-based monetary reward (Murayama, Matsumoto, Izuma & Matsumoto, 2010). This study and a few others demonstrates nuance with reward systems.
Generally speaking, rewards are effective in motivating people and enhancing learning...when a task does not have intrinsic value. When someone does have genuine interest in a task or subject, rewards may actually undermine motivation, provide zero benefits for learning, and even become detrimental to future engagement.
APPLYING THE RESEARCH
Let’s sum up what we’ve learned so far:
Performance goals help short-term learning
Mastery goals facilitate long-term learning
Rewards are effective if you find the subject/task boring
Rewards are less effective if you find the subject/task interesting
Example A - Creating healthy habits for someone who doesn't love exercise:
Sally started her fitness journey and doesn’t love exercise. She wants to start with increasing her daily steps, but she finds walks boring and time-consuming. She also works a desk job. Sally might set a short-term goal of 7000 steps daily over the next couple of weeks. She will focus mainly on parking farther from her office, using the stairs instead of the elevator, and taking walk breaks in the hallways at work. If she achieves this, she will treat herself to a pedicure.
Over time, Sally may develop a habit of parking in the same spot at work, taking the stairs regularly, and getting up more from her computer, thus raising her step count and being less sedentary overall. A win!
Example B - Bettering a habit for someone who loves to cook:
Simon just began his fitness journey, and he wants to start with making healthier meals that still taste good. He already loves to cook. Simon invests in a 5-Ingredient Healthy Meals Cookbook and picks up some groceries he wouldn’t normally buy. He’s excited to try a couple of new recipes each week.
Simon is already intrinsically motivated to cook, so he doesn’t need a reward for a new behavior. He just needs to master new recipes (with help from the cookbook), and that starts with changing what he buys at the store and prepares in the kitchen.
IN CONCLUSION…
Motivation does matter, but we all have different intrinsic motivators and motivation systems. Avoid comparing your own motivation to others, and instead try this:
Ask “Why?” 3-5 times:
Why do I want to make healthy life changes?
Because I’m tired of feeling tired and I want more energy.
Why do you want that?
Because I want to perform better at work and keep up with my kids.
Why is that important?
Because I want a promotion and I want my kids to grow up with healthy influences.
Why?
Because I want to enhance our quality of life.
References
Murayama, K., & Elliot, A.J. (2011). Achievement motivation and memory: Achievement goals differentially influence immediate and delayed remember–know recognition memory. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37(10), 1339-1348.
Murayama, K., Matsumoto, M., Izuma, K., & Matsumoto, K. (2010). Neural basis of the undermining effect of monetary reward on intrinsic motivation. PNAS Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 107(49), 20911-20916.
UNTIL NEXT TIME - COACH TORI