Centre for Policy on Ageing



Motivation in later life — theory and assessment
Author(s)	Robert J Vallerand, Brian P O'Connor, Marc Hamel
Journal title	International Journal of Aging and Human Development, vol 41, no 3, 1995
Pages	pp 221-238
Keywords	Well being ; Attitude ; Residents [care homes] ; Nursing homes ; Measurement ; Evaluation ; Theory.
Annotation	Deci and Ryan's theory, 'Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior' (1985), has been found useful in research on young adults, and is suggested as a promising direction for research on motivation in later life. The theory proposes four types of motivation - intrinsic, self-determined extrinsic, non-self-determined extrinsic, and amotivation - which are assumed to have varying consequences for adaptation and well-being. A previously published French measure of motivational styles which is known to be reliable and vivid was translated into English and tested on 77 nursing home residents (aged 60-98 years). Findings were that the four motivational styles can be reliably measured; that inter-correlations between motivational styles are consistent with theoretical predictions; and that the four types of motivation are related to other important aspects of the lives of older people in a theoretically meaningful manner.
Accession Number	CPA-970425028 A
Classmark	D:F:5HH: DP: KX: LHB: 3R: 4C: 4D
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.