12 Oct Definition of Political Motive
Study 1 Wuttke, Alexander (2020): “Political engagement`s a-political roots: investigating the role of need-supportive parenting in the political domain”, special issue of Motivation & Emotion, ed. Vansteenkiste, Soenens, Ryan, Study; A politically informed population that takes care of public affairs and participates in political affairs is the cornerstone of a flourishing liberal democracy. This work therefore examines the motivational foundations of citizen engagement in politics. In particular, this work deals with the structure and origins of political motivation, i.e. the forces that animate, direct and maintain activities and attention to the community. The work takes an interdisciplinary perspective and synthesizes the psychological theories of motivation science in order to apply the derived motivational framework to the political realm. One of the central ideas proposed in this book is the import of the concept of basic psychological needs into the literature on political participation. This thesis, which paves the way for an explanation of political commitment based on first principles rather than on immediate causes, considers that basic psychological needs must be the first to be the psychological precursors that ultimately lead to engagement with politics. One of these basic needs – the need for autonomy – is used to systematize the myriad of motivational pathways that have been identified in the existing literature as leading to political engagement. As a result, the forces that drive political engagement can be distinguished by how self-determined or controlling they are perceived by the actor. Political motivation is therefore conceived as a four-dimensional construction in which each dimension is organized on a continuum of relative autonomy and has different behavioral effects.
In particular, it is argued that any type of motivation can lead to political engagement, but only autonomous motivation leads to autonomous and profound forms of engagement. Since autonomous political motivation is therefore at the heart of a dynamic society, two chapters examine the origins of why some people enjoy or appreciate politics while others do not. Still on the basis of the concept of basic psychological needs, contexts of needs satisfaction are theorized to promote political motivation in two ways. First, meeting domain-specific needs can shape domain-related parameters. Since meeting needs is seen as positively vallourous feelings, previous encounters with politics that meet needs should stimulate a person`s intrinsic motivation to seek political encounters again and again in the future. Second, it is argued that meeting needs shapes a personality conducive to political engagement. Growing up in a supportive environment promotes psychosocial functioning, which in turn produces personality traits that stimulate the assessment and enjoyment of political engagement. The motivational framework of political engagement is empirically tested in three separate studies, using original cross-sectional and longitudinal data with a new measure of political motivation, examining self-reported and behavioural outcomes, and using experimental and observational methods. These studies provide mixed results that provide substantial evidence of the evolutionary origins of political motivation in early needs satisfaction and limited evidence of the role of the need for autonomy in structuring needs satisfaction.
Other key elements of the motivation framework have received no empirical support, casting doubt on the relevance of some of the basic needs tested for political engagement. Overall, therefore, the motivation framework presented is not a definitive word about the ultimate origins of political motivation. Nevertheless, this new approach can serve as a springboard for other theoretical innovations that attempt to understand political engagement using the Conceptual Toolkit of Motivation Science. Study 2 Wuttke, Alexander (forthcoming): “Why do (some) citizens like politics? Introduction of the intrinsic needs-based political motivation model”, politics and life sciences, pre-print, pre-registration, poster. Why Some People Engage with Politics and Other Do Not Study 3 Wuttke, Alexander [under revision]: “Conceptualizing Motivational Pathways to Political Engagement: A Test of Self-determination Theory in the Political Domain,” PLOS One, Pre-Print, Replication Material.