academic writing sample (circa 2002)
Title:
Relating self-enhancement, motivation and creativity
Psych 110
March 18th, 2002
Abstract:
Humanistic psychology holds the key to opening what's possible in terms of human achievement and subjective experience. This important area of research supposes that individuals need not live a life experienced as endless anxiety, escapism, psychological entropy and social alienation. In this paper I discuss environmental and psychological factors that contribute to the development of a total personality, defined as someone who becomes progressively complex and motivated over time and seeks an increase in experiences and responsibility. The main focus of this paper is the exploration of the concept of intrinsic motivation and how this type of motivation is shown to lead to differing psychological outcomes, and subjective experience of life.
Introduction:
The overarching framework from which my topic derives is humanistic psychology, "a romantic model of expressive individualism in which the individual person naturally move toward an expression of full potential when unencumbered by external demands." (Garrison, 2001) Its subset, positive psychology, "the science of positive subjective experience, positive traits and positive institutions." (Seigleman and Csikszentmihalyi, 2000) is a historically under-researched area of the discipline of psychology. Most of the history of psychology in the 20th century has been dominated by behaviorism and psychoanalysis, whose major premise is that humans are deeply flawed or exhibit pathological behaviors which can be cured through psychological intervention.
Commonly known as "The First Force" in psychology behaviorists, view humans merely as organisms that can be manipulated through the delivery of either rewards or punishments (Skinner, 1954). This school of psychological inquiry sees human behavior in terms of what humans do to either obtain external rewards and/or avoid punishment. Psychoanalytic therapy also tends to view individuals as either mentally flawed and/or pathological, as opposed to seeking to understand the positive or possible sides of human behavior. Psychoanalysts seem to view all humans as "problems" to be solved. (Citation)
In my view both of these schools of thought deny humans the totality of their experience. Behaviorists systematically exclude the subjective data (personal experience) of consciousness and much information regarding the complexity of the human personality and its development. In other words, both the laboratory and the analysts couch are reductionist in their treatment of the total person, by discrediting the value of individuals subjective experiences, since these experiences are less easily quantifiable and less amenable to scientific scrutiny.
Thus, my interest turns to the study of humanistic, or positive psychology. I undertook this study in order to fashion some of my own understanding about why people become oriented, motivated, happy and successful, as opposed to apathetic, anxious and escapist. I wanted to gain knowledge of this field, with the intention of being able to describe and answer the following questions: What are the psychological factors that contribute to optimal experience? What is the concept of "Flow" as described by Csikszentmihaly? What is human consciousness and what is its role in developing intrinsic motivation? What is motivation? What is optimal experience? What is creativity? How can these teachings be applied? A discussion of the history and terms follows. I also rely on my own subjective experience regarding individuals' psychological and environmental factors conducive to becoming likely to experience the state of "flow." In this way, I have made some anecdotal observations based on interviews, which support my thesis.
History:
My interest in the topic derives from naturally occurring interest in answering some of the most fundamental questions of human experience: self-development, motivational theory, and creativity. I seek to define and discuss the factors, which contribute to a person's ability to form a positive outlook on life, the feeling of energy and purpose and clarity of thought, as described eloquently by Csikszentmihalyi in his book "Flow" (1996). I also had an innate aversion early in life to the behaviorist and psychoanalytic schools of thought. I had a previous negative experience of psychology in an early undergraduate class, where I learned (inaccurately) that psychology was the study of learning how to manipulate and control people. While it's true that it is used to that end, it is also much more. I wanted to study a fundamental question of human existence that could potentially change my understanding of life for the better. Prior to this class, I had often noticed that many of my peers seemed to go through periods of depression, listlessness, boredom, and anxiety and to experience feelings of existential dread.
Throughout my life, I've also been very interested in creativity and our society's paradoxical treatment of creative individuals. While creativity is valued, I wanted to explore how individuals could forge personal creativity and experience flow, despite the tendency of our culture to value conformity and predictable behavior. I wanted to understand what kind of environment would be needed for optimal functioning in this area, with the assumption that the development of cognitive skills, creativity and the ability to master a domain within a field does not happen in a vacuum, but as a social construct. What are the factors that contribute to one's optimal development? Assuming that we as a culture value creativity and its attendant social benefits, what can we do to increase its likelihood on both the personal and social levels? Hence, my studies began in earnest. A related set of questions that I wanted to explore is the whole concept of optimal experience. What is it? How does one achieve a life where boredom and anxiety is the exception rather than the rule? If humans in general were given the freedom to pursue their passions, what social changes would result? Of course some of these questions are too broad for a paper of this scope, but they did influence the books and resources that I chose.
Historical Findings
Carl Rogers, Rollo May and Abraham Maslow shaped the future of humanistic psychology and the psychology of optimal experience. These were the early pioneers of the then-emerging and historically discredited field of positive psychology. Rogers introduced person-centered therapy, which holds that intrinsic tendencies toward self-actualization can be expressed in a therapeutic relationship in which the therapist offers personal congruence, unconditional positive regard and accurate empathic understanding. Rollo May explored the nature of creativity, art and mythology, and the value of the humanities as psychological resources. (O'Hara).
In the 1960s, Abraham Maslow developed a hierarchical theory of human needs, which precede an individual's ability to develop as a whole person and experience self-actualization. I define self-actualization as the ability to live a life that is completely integrated with one's own values and goals, (as opposed to living life achieving goals for others, as in the classic factory system.) In his schema, there are 4 levels of basic human needs that must be met before self-actualization can occur. They are as follows; #1 defined as the most basic need and #4 defined as self-fulfillment:
Current theorists (Ryan M. & Deci, 2000) suggest that successful goal orientation develop after these needs are met. Essentially, Maslow's hierarchy of needs dictates that your personal success and ability to develop a field of expertise is contingent on first meeting primary existential needs. Once psychic energy is freed from worry about physical illness, immediate danger and starvation, then that energy can be directed towards higher intellectual processes, creativity and mastery. I would say that this also extends to experiencing physical health (as opposed to illness) and from the slavery of financial debt.
- Biological/Physiological needs. That which the organism called humans need to sustain life: water, food, oxygen, ability to regulate body temperature.
- Security/safety needs.
- Social needs include being able to experience a sense of acceptance within a social group, love affection.
- Ego/ self-esteem needs. Having developed a strong sense of self-respect, respect from others, and valuable within society.
Current theorists (Ryan M. & Deci, 2000) suggest that successful goal orientation develop after these needs are met. Essentially, Maslow's hierarchy of needs dictates that your personal success and ability to develop a field of expertise is contingent on first meeting primary existential needs. Once psychic energy is freed from worry about physical illness, immediate danger and starvation, then that energy can be directed towards higher intellectual processes, creativity and mastery. I would say that this also extends to experiencing physical health (as opposed to illness) and from the slavery of financial debt.
Flow
Fast forward to the 1970s. An influential teacher of humanistic theory, a man named Mihaly Csikszentmihaly, has written extensively on the psychology of optimal experience. His work deals with, in part, methodologies pertaining to quantifying and qualifying human subjective experiences. His theory of flow is complex, inclusive and relevant to many areas of human experience.
Essentially, "flow" is the term that Csikszentmihaly uses to describe the mental state that individuals achieve when they are performing optimally at a task that they have previously mastered. Flow is an important concept because it encompasses many processes with a defined end result. That end result is characterized when one has developed a profound interest that is then acted upon, developed, and mastered. Flow is the experience that describes being at the top of your game, where time distorts because all consciousness is directed towards the task at hand that is demanding one's full attention. Examples can be found in any individuals that experience devotion to their work and where the task at hand matches the individuals' existing skill-set. "Flow" can also be experienced while at play, doing something that one is not explicitly obligated to do, but something chooses to do. "Flow" supposes that all human activity can be experienced as flow, provided the right environmental and psychological factors are achieved.
Individuals can learn how to experience flow, enhance personal creativity and improve their overall quality of life. Experiencing flow is predicated on numerous psychological and environmental factors, including, but not limited to attainment of levels 4-5 of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Obviously one cannot get far in life if all of one's mental energy is devoted to just staying alive. Once basic material, physical and psychological needs are met, then an individual can begin work developing and mastering a creative pursuit. One wonders what people who have sufficiently met basic needs can do to further development, heightened subjective experience, creativity and flow, as opposed to feeling bored and dissatisfied.
A fundamental question that drives all of this inquiry is what motivates people and why they chose to do things that have no promise of behavioral reinforcements such as an expected reward for performance. As such, before the concept of experiencing flow can be fully understood, we must first take a short step back to understand the concepts of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.
Intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation
Intrinsic motivation is defined as the mental process that drives creative and intellectual action, for the sole pleasure of doing said activity. This may be better understood in opposition to extrinsic motivation, where people do things either to receive an expected reward (like getting paid for going to work) or to avoid punishment. (Cite intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation book here)
In this culture, the likelihood for one to develop intrinsic vs. extrinsic goals is linked to socio-economic class. Economically disadvantaged individuals may be under constant pressure to make money achieve status and be socially pleasing. Those in more stable financial circumstances may have more leisure time outside of work to devote to rare and diversified talents, like playing or composing music, creating art, writing, or developing scientific theories, simply for the pleasure of doing so. This is an interesting contrast to other, more communally oriented, and less economically stratified societies where the goal of work is developing skills and sharing existing resources, therefore, most work has elements of flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996).
An important aspect of a successful education and later mastery and success is having a personal mentor. A mentor is someone with a recognized expertise on the field to with one may chose to enter that takes some responsibility and interest in ones personal and professional development and speaks on your behalf. This is not to say that one cannot be successful without one, but ones prospect are greatly improved by this additional help.
In the book "Creativity and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention" access to a domain within a specific field is a necessary prerequisite to developing creativity and later flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996). In this view, creativity is socially defined by what he calls "arbiters of the field." Only the existing experts of a specific field are qualified to recognize when a new theory, thought or action will be defined as truly unique or creative. As an extension, only the experts in various fields can allow "access" to individuals eager to make an impression on the world, to be recognized and rewarded for their talents. As such, a prerequisite for success in any given domain: astronomy, art, mathematics, music, etc. is determined by whether an individual can gain access to the domain at all. In the case of early women scholars, the social conditions of the time dictated that they could not be formally admitted to any institutions of higher learning, vote or hold office. Hence for much of human history, men had all the important jobs, consolidated power and authority and reserved access to all scholastic, artistic and social domains for males only. In this time, access to domains are restricted with a number of other criteria: having family resources to pursue higher education (only 25% of adults nationwide obtain an advanced degree), having the appropriate education for the field pursued, appropriate specialization, and just being in the right place at the right time. For example, one is not going to find your pursuit of either cubism or Marxism innovative, since these ideas have already been explored in detail by other, earlier thinkers. Developing personal characteristics that contribute to one's ability to experience flow, involves persistence, dedication, specific goals and the paradoxical ability to be open to new experiences and influences and, a deep intrinsic motivation for developing a skill. A specific set of skills that are developed enough for one to use with confidence, and therefore enjoy developing further leads to increased flow experiences and success.
Luck is also an extremely important factor in developing success and creativity. For example, Csickszentmihalyi points out that women scientists were admitted to graduate departments in record numbers and made great advances once the Second World War got underway, since so many of the men were away during the war.
A Case Study
Based on my own subjective experience regarding environments and individual ability not only maintain personal motivation but derive actual joy and satisfaction out of difficult work. Include interview with E. an acquaintance known to me whose work and passion is mechanical and physical in nature. This person learned his trade on Naval M/V class ocean-going vessels and continues in avionics, merchant marine vessels and anything else mechanical in nature. My perception of his line of work is that it is dangerous, dirty, and physically difficult. I could not at first understand why he would find such pleasure and satisfaction in his work, or why he experiences an intense intrinsic motivation to solve all kinds of mechanical problems. An interview confirmed Csikzhentmihalyis' concept of flow in this case. This person reported a sense of time distortion, exceptional physical strength, a feeling of mental alertness and clarity, freedom from hunger and external distractions and an ability to completely concentrate on the task at hand and motivation to enhance and build on previous skills. That the greatest enjoyment, even from the most difficult of occupations comes from individuals' ability to form and maintain an intrinsic motivation for doing said task.
Personal Characteristics
People with certain psychological attributes, tend to be able to develop the skills necessary to enter states of flow, these attributes are stubbornness, creative mindset, dedication, and a deep intrinsic motivation for developing a skill. A specific set of skills that is developed enough for one to use with confidence and therefore enjoy developing further leads to more increased flow experiences and success.
Environmental Factors Contributing to Increased Flow
Positive environmental factors predisposing one to increased flow and creativity are: having a mentor, schooling, progressive education, a rich home life as a child, stability, ability to be alone as a youth, independent of ones peers…all of these things are precursors to one being able to develop and master and direct one's consciousness. Social organization that maximizes ones access to specialized fields within a domain. Although many adults did not experience "optimal conditions" throughout childhood, there are still environmental and psychological factors that contribute to their tendency to experience flow. These include: self-assessment, work environment, continued education, goal setting, self-discipline, and physical and mental health (Csikszentmihalyi, 1996).
Regarding self-assessment, individuals are likely to be more intrinsically motivated and successful once they have undertaken serious self-assessment. Only then can individuals define and decide what their personal, psychological and aesthetic values are. Self-assessment is necessary for personal growth, as opposed to being dictated by an outside force what the objectives of ones life should be. Children and adults who have their interests dictated to them by an authority will always be in conflict wondering if they are really doing what "they were cut out for." Self-assessment is a primary task for an individual serious about happiness that is defines by internal motivations and values.
Since work life takes up so much of the average person's life, conditions at work have a strong relationship to one's general sense of well being. Studies show (Deci and Ryan) that people feel happier and experience an increase in motivation and responsibility when the individual is allowed to experience autonomy, relatedness and control. An example of these factors might be a worker under conditions in which he or she can autonomously choose how to accomplish his or her work. The worker must also feel that the work is important, that it relates to his or her personal convictions, skill set, and to others in a meaningful way. And finally, the worker must have a modicum of control over the work environment, as opposed to being micro-managed (Deci & Ryan, 2000).
For my purposes, self-discipline, goal setting, and continuing education are all interrelated factors contributing to an individual's propensity to experience flow. After self-assessment, individuals must develop: self-discipline before they can achieve goals. One must also develop judgement concerning realistic goals and how they are to be achieved. Continuing education occurs after self-discipline and goal setting, which sets the stage for further mastery of more complex domains, achievements and experiences. These factors are quite obvious, but what is not is that once established, many adults become apathetic and alienated from their own progress as people. Once basic material success is achieved, many adults feel that it is adequate to rest on their laurels indefinitely, and wonder why they feel bored and listless, and find scarce satisfaction in escapism, and mindless, purposeless leisure. The point here is that it is continually important for individuals to feel adequately challenged by life to achieve optimal experience and the next step of flow.
Conclusion:
- Psychological and environmental factors contributing to positive intrinsic motivation, creativity and quality of life.
- How can these teachings impact the self? Society? Why is this important?
These teachings can be used to decrease feelings of alienation and increase feelings of self-guided purpose, therefore creating a more meaningful and positive experience of life. As we have seen, there are numerous practices that one can undertake to facilitate improving ones subjective experiences of life. The trick is not to extinguish the innate human tendencies to explore, create and master a domain so necessary to living a full and optimally oriented life.
Bibliography
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Cskszentmihaly, M. (1990). Flow. New York: Harper and Row.
Cskszentmihaly, M. (1996). Creativity and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention. New York: HarperCollins.
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