ORCID Profile
0000-0001-6423-5499
Current Organisation
Australian Catholic University
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Publisher: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Date: 27-05-2022
Abstract: Finding communication strategies that effectively motivate social distancing continues to be a global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-country, preregistered experiment ( n = 25,718 from 89 countries) tested hypotheses concerning generalizable positive and negative outcomes of social distancing messages that promoted personal agency and reflective choices (i.e., an autonomy-supportive message) or were restrictive and shaming (i.e., a controlling message) compared with no message at all. Results partially supported experimental hypotheses in that the controlling message increased controlled motivation (a poorly internalized form of motivation relying on shame, guilt, and fear of social consequences) relative to no message. On the other hand, the autonomy-supportive message lowered feelings of defiance compared with the controlling message, but the controlling message did not differ from receiving no message at all. Unexpectedly, messages did not influence autonomous motivation (a highly internalized form of motivation relying on one’s core values) or behavioral intentions. Results supported hypothesized associations between people’s existing autonomous and controlled motivations and self-reported behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing. Controlled motivation was associated with more defiance and less long-term behavioral intention to engage in social distancing, whereas autonomous motivation was associated with less defiance and more short- and long-term intentions to social distance. Overall, this work highlights the potential harm of using shaming and pressuring language in public health communication, with implications for the current and future global health challenges.
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 18-04-2019
Abstract: In this paper, we argue for the need to assess social identity group need satisfaction and frustration in addition to in idual level needs. We argue that political science and psychology require a measure of social identity group needs to provide empirical insights into how state treatment of groups influences their citizens' wellbeing. In this paper, we create and validate a short measure of group needs on a s le of Australian (n = 2081) and American (n = 1493) adults. We show the measure fit the data well, is invariant across gender, nation, and social identity group, and is related to validation variables in expected directions. We also contrast group needs with in idual needs. We show that group needs are distinct from in idual needs. Group and in idual needs are associated in similar directions and strengths with wellbeing and primary goods. In idual need satisfaction is positively related to identity centrality and need frustration negatively related. Group needs are almost always positively related to identity centrality. We argue that our measure can make a meaningful contribution to empirical research in the social sciences.
Publisher: JMIR Publications Inc.
Date: 02-02-2018
Abstract: ello Sunday Morning (HSM) is a self-guided health promotion website with the aim to improve drinking culture. Members are encouraged to sign up for a 3-month period of alcohol abstention and record and track their progress and goals. his study used self-determination theory (SDT) to examine the nature of goals subscribed by HSM users to test the extent to which intrinsic goal pursuit was linked to lower alcohol dependency risk and higher engagement with the HSM website. SM users (N=2216 59.75%, 1324/2216, females aged 18-79 years) completed the World Health Organization’s Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (WHO-AUDIT, which measures alcohol dependence risk level) at sign-up and at 4 and 6 months after sign-up. In addition, the website had a goals-subscription feature that allowed participants to share their goals. Two independent raters classified the goals according to a coding system we devised based on SDT, which proposes that intrinsic goals (eg, growth, relationships, community, and health) better promote positive outcomes than extrinsic goals (eg, wealth, fame, and image). lthough there was substantial (1016/2216, 45.84%) attrition of HSM users from sign-up to 6 months, the attrition rate could not be attributed to alcohol dependency risk because people in different WHO-AUDIT risk zones were equally likely to be missing at 4 and 6 months after sign-up. The SDT-driven coding of goals yielded the following categories: wealth and image (extrinsic goals) relationships, personal growth, community engagement, and physical health (intrinsic goals) and alcohol use-related goals (which were hard to classify as either extrinsic or intrinsic). Alcohol dependence risk level correlated positively with goals related to money (r=.16), personal growth (r=.17), relationships (r=.10), and alcohol use (r=.25). Website engagement correlated negatively with alcohol dependence risk level (r=.10) and positively with relationship (r=.10) and community goals (r=.12). SM users with higher alcohol dependence risk tended to engage with the website less, but to the extent that they did, they tended to subscribe to goals related to alcohol use and improving their personal growth, relationships, and finances. In line with SDT, engagement with goals—particularly the intrinsic goals of connecting with close-others and the broader community—related to increased website engagement. Web-based tools intended to promote healthy behaviors in users may be effective in engaging their users if the users’ experience on the website supports the pursuit of intrinsic goals.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 07-01-2021
DOI: 10.3389/FPSYG.2020.591638
Abstract: Promoting the use of contact tracing technology will be an important step in global recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Across two studies, we assessed two messaging strategies as motivators of intended contact tracing uptake. In one s le of 1117 Australian adults and one s le of 888 American adults, we examined autonomy-supportive and controlling message framing and the presence or absence of information safety as predictors of intended contact tracing application uptake, using an online randomized 2 × 2 experimental design. The results suggested that the provision of data safety assurances may be key in affecting people’s intentions to use contact tracing technology, an effect we found in both s les regardless of whether messages were framed as autonomy-supportive or controlling. Those in high information safety conditions consistently reported higher intended uptake and more positive perceptions of the application than those in low information safety conditions. In Study 2, we also found that perceptions of government legitimacy related positively to intended application uptake, as did political affiliation. In sum, in iduals appeared more willing to assent to authority regarding contact tracing insofar as their data safety can be assured. Yet, public messaging strategies alone may be insufficient to initiate intentions to change behavior, even in these unprecedented circumstances.
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Date: 04-2023
DOI: 10.1037/PSPP0000431
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Date: 2021
DOI: 10.1037/PSPP0000374
Abstract: We conducted a person-centered analysis of the Aspiration Index to identify subgroups that differ in the levels of their specific (wealth, fame and image, personal growth, relationships, community giving, and health) and global intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations. In a Hungarian (
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 11-10-2019
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 12-01-2023
Abstract: Self-determination theory (SDT) is a theoretical framework for addressing human motivation and wellness that has been actively and increasingly researched over four decades. As a cumulative knowledge base, many of SDT’s fundamental tenets have been repeatedly examined. We identified 60 meta-analyses that tested many of the propositions of SDT’s six mini-theories, other theory-based hypotheses, and SDT’s utility in applied domains. In this review we examine what these meta-analyses establish, highlighting the support they lend to the validity of SDT’s motivational taxonomy and its hypotheses regarding the respective effects of basic psychological need satisfaction and frustration on well-being and ill-being. Meta-analytic evidence also strongly supports the relevance of SDT for organizations, health care, parenting, and education among other domains, with identifiable gaps in the meta-analytic literature. We conclude by discussing the importance of broad theory and the use of meta-analytic knowledge as scaffolding for further theory and research, albeit with its own methodological limitations.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-09-2021
DOI: 10.1111/SODE.12473
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 18-11-2019
Abstract: We integrate Rawls’ (1971/2009, 1993, 2001) concept of primary goods with self-determination theory (SDT Ryan & Deci, 2017), to examine the link between people’s perceptions of primary goods (i.e., views of society as just and fair), basic psychological need satisfaction, and well-being. In Study 1 (N=762, countries = Australia, the United States, South Africa, India, and the Philippines) and Study 2 (N=1479, groups = ethnic minority, sexual minority, political group, religious group), we used partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to assess associations between perceptions of primary goods and wellness, and the intermediary role of basic psychological needs. Perceptions of primary goods linked positively to well-being (average effect size = 0.48), and negatively to ill-being (average effect size = -0.46). These associations were strongly mediated by basic psychological needs (average percentage mediated: 53% Study 1 and 68% Study 2). Results signify the importance of primary goods’ perceptions to wellness.
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Date: 11-2022
DOI: 10.1037/BUL0000385
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 02-12-2021
Abstract: Self-determination theory (SDT) posits that experiences of autonomy lead people to be more prosocial, whereas experiences of control lead to antisocial actions. In this meta-analysis, we tested the links between autonomy and prosociality, and control and antisociality, across 139 reports (167 studies) with 1,189 effect sizes (N = 75,546 participants). We used two-stage structural equation modelling including both correlational and longitudinal study designs. We found support for the hypothesized direct links between autonomy and prosociality, and between control and antisociality, with cross-paths between these constructs being weaker. In line with SDT’s claims that the salutary effects of autonomy are universal, results also showed that the hypothesized links were consistent across cultures, genders, and age categories. We also reviewed emerging experimental research on the effect of autonomy-priming interventions on prosociality. To conclude, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings and lay out an agenda for future research.
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 26-11-2019
Abstract: We conducted a person-centered analysis of the Aspiration Index to identify subgroups that differ in the levels of their specific (wealth, fame and image, personal growth, relationships, health, and community giving) and global intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations. In a Hungarian (N=3370 77% female age: M = 23.57), an Australian (N=1632 51% female age: M = 16.6), and an American s le (N=6063 82.2% female age: M = 21.86), we conducted separate bifactor exploratory structural equation models to disentangle the level of higher-order intrinsic and extrinsic aspirations from the shape of specific aspirations by using the resultant factor scores as indicators in latent profile analyses. The analyses yielded three replicable latent profiles: Disengaged from relationships and health (Profile 1) Aspiring for interpersonal relationships more than community relationships (Profile 2) and Aspiring for community relationships more than interpersonal relationships (Profile 3), with Profile 3 reliably experiencing the highest well-being. To demonstrate the incremental value of our approach to more traditional variable-centered methods, we used profile membership to predict well-being whilst controlling for the aspirations that comprise the profiles. Even in these highly conservative tests, profile membership explained additional variance in well-being. These studies make a unique contribution to the literature by identifying replicable latent profiles of aspiring that account for variance in well-being over and above the constituent variables.
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 12-08-2019
Abstract: Experiments suggest that people who believe their attributes are malleable should be more resilient in the face of failure. Does this mean that incremental theorists maintain higher self-esteem? We explore this question meta-analytically. We synthesised research from 34 studies to show that the relationship between self-esteem and incremental theories is generally weak. We performed moderation analysis to identify method, and s le features which predict effect size magnitude. Of note, implicit malleability theories were more strongly related to self-esteem when scales were self-, rather than other-focused, and when incremental, rather than entity items were used.
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 07-03-2023
Abstract: Past research and theory suggest that youth aggression is maladaptive, caused by factors such as cognitive bias, personal defect, or frustration. We sought to identify the extent and circumstances in which aggression is socially adaptive in the school context, by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of the links between youth aggression and peer nominations of popularity and likeability. Bayesian multilevel meta-analysis was used to analyse 1,133 effects from 255 studies with a total of 556,363 participants in elementary, middle, and high school. Aggression was negatively associated with likability: -0.28 [95% credibility interval (CrI): -0.41 -0.13] and positively associated with popularity: 0.16 [95% CrI: 0.06 0.25], regardless of the type of aggression and several other possible moderators. We discuss the implications of these findings for aggression interventions and highlight the importance of acknowledging the upsides of aggression for youth, measuring, and targeting indirect aggression.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 22-06-2021
DOI: 10.1177/09637214211009511
Abstract: Mindfulness and motivation are both highly researched topics of great consequence for in idual and social wellness. Using the lens of self-determination theory, we review evidence indicating that mindfulness is differentially related to different types of motivations, playing a facilitating role for highly autonomous forms of motivation, but not for externally controlled or introjected (self-controlling) forms of motivation. A key contribution of this review is our contention that mindfulness confers a range of intra- and interin idual benefits (e.g., well-being and prosociality) in part through its relation to autonomous motivations, a claim for which we outline preliminary evidence. Finally, we discuss how future research connecting mindfulness and motivation is important for both fields of study, for applied practices in areas such as psychotherapy and business, and for enhancing understanding of the processes underlying human wellness.
Publisher: Australian Catholic University
Date: 2019
Publisher: JMIR Publications Inc.
Date: 22-10-2018
DOI: 10.2196/10022
Abstract: Hello Sunday Morning (HSM) is a self-guided health promotion website with the aim to improve drinking culture. Members are encouraged to sign up for a 3-month period of alcohol abstention and record and track their progress and goals. This study used self-determination theory (SDT) to examine the nature of goals subscribed by HSM users to test the extent to which intrinsic goal pursuit was linked to lower alcohol dependency risk and higher engagement with the HSM website. HSM users (N=2216 59.75%, 1324/2216, females aged 18-79 years) completed the World Health Organization’s Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (WHO-AUDIT, which measures alcohol dependence risk level) at sign-up and at 4 and 6 months after sign-up. In addition, the website had a goals-subscription feature that allowed participants to share their goals. Two independent raters classified the goals according to a coding system we devised based on SDT, which proposes that intrinsic goals (eg, growth, relationships, community, and health) better promote positive outcomes than extrinsic goals (eg, wealth, fame, and image). Although there was substantial (1016/2216, 45.84%) attrition of HSM users from sign-up to 6 months, the attrition rate could not be attributed to alcohol dependency risk because people in different WHO-AUDIT risk zones were equally likely to be missing at 4 and 6 months after sign-up. The SDT-driven coding of goals yielded the following categories: wealth and image (extrinsic goals) relationships, personal growth, community engagement, and physical health (intrinsic goals) and alcohol use-related goals (which were hard to classify as either extrinsic or intrinsic). Alcohol dependence risk level correlated positively with goals related to money (r=.16), personal growth (r=.17), relationships (r=.10), and alcohol use (r=.25). Website engagement correlated negatively with alcohol dependence risk level (r=.10) and positively with relationship (r=.10) and community goals (r=.12). HSM users with higher alcohol dependence risk tended to engage with the website less, but to the extent that they did, they tended to subscribe to goals related to alcohol use and improving their personal growth, relationships, and finances. In line with SDT, engagement with goals—particularly the intrinsic goals of connecting with close-others and the broader community—related to increased website engagement. Web-based tools intended to promote healthy behaviors in users may be effective in engaging their users if the users’ experience on the website supports the pursuit of intrinsic goals.
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 25-11-2019
Abstract: Mindfulness has been shown to have varied associations with different forms of motivation, leading to a lack of clarity as to how and when it may foster healthy motivational states. Grounded in self-determination theory, the present study proposes a theoretical model for how mindfulness supports different forms of human motivation, and then tests this via meta-analysis. A systematic review identified 89 relevant studies (N = 25,176), comprised of 104 independent datasets and 200 effect sizes. We used a three-level modelling approach to meta-analyze these data. Across both correlational and intervention studies, we found consistent support for mindfulness predicting more autonomous forms of motivation and among correlational studies, less controlled motivation and amotivation. We conducted moderation analyses to probe heterogeneity in the effects, including bias within studies. We conclude by highlighting substantive and methodological issues that need to be addressed in future research in this area.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 30-12-2020
Abstract: Mindfulness has been shown to have varied associations with different forms of motivation, leading to a lack of clarity as to how and when it may foster healthy motivational states. Grounded in self-determination theory, the present study proposes a theoretical model for how mindfulness supports different forms of human motivation, and then tests this via meta-analysis. A systematic review identified 89 relevant studies ( N = 25,176), comprising 104 independent data sets and 200 effect sizes. We used a three-level modeling approach to meta-analyze these data. Across both correlational and intervention studies, we found consistent support for mindfulness predicting more autonomous forms of motivation and, among correlational studies, less controlled motivation and amotivation. We conducted moderation analyses to probe heterogeneity in the effects, including bias within studies. We conclude by highlighting substantive and methodological issues that need to be addressed in future research in this area.
Publisher: Center for Open Science
Date: 05-05-2020
Abstract: Promoting the use of contact tracing technology will be an important step in global recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Across two studies, we assess two messaging strategies as motivators of intended contact tracing uptake. In one s le of 1117 Australian adults (Mage=50.17, SDage=17.46) and one s le of 888 American adults (Mage=46.09, SDage=17.00), we examined autonomy-supportive and controlling message framing and the presence or absence of information safety as predictors of intended contact tracing application uptake. Using an online randomized 2 x 2 experimental design, we found that message framing had no effect on intended uptake in Study 1. However, in Study 2, and counter to expectations, we found that participants in the controlling message framing conditions had higher intentions to download and use the application. Across both studies, we also found main effects for information safety. Those in high information safety conditions consistently reported higher intended uptake and more positive perceptions of the application, than those in low information safety conditions, regardless of message framing. In Study 2, we also found that perceptions of the government as legitimate related positively to intended application uptake, as did political affiliation. In sum, in iduals appeared more willing to assent to authority regarding contact tracing insofar as their data safety can be assured. Yet, public messaging strategies alone may be insufficient to initiate intentions to change behavior, even in these unprecedented circumstances.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 13-04-2021
DOI: 10.1186/S13722-021-00231-Z
Abstract: Unhealthy alcohol use is a key concern for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (‘Indigenous Australian’) communities. Due to systematic disadvantage and inter-generational trauma, Indigenous Australians may be less likely to have satisfied basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness). When people are need-thwarted, they may engage in compensatory behaviours to feel better in the short-term. We explore the relationship between perceived basic psychological needs satisfaction and alcohol consumption use among Indigenous Australians. Better understanding the functions that alcohol may play for some Indigenous Australian drinkers may aid communities, clinicians, and policy makers in improving programs for reducing drinking-related harms. We performed a cross-sectional survey of Indigenous Australians (aged 16 years or older) living in two South Australian communities. Participants were eligible if they had consumed any alcohol in the past 12 months. Spearman correlations and linear regressions were used to determine if feeling more autonomous, competent, and related to others (need satisfied) while drinking, was linked to alcohol consumption and dependence. Controlling for participant demographics, reporting feeling need satisfied while drinking was linked to drinking more alcohol per day, reporting more frequent symptoms of alcohol dependence, spending more money on alcohol, and scoring higher on the AUDIT-C. Unhealthy drinking may partly stem from attempts to satisfy basic psychological needs. Programs which support Indigenous Australians to meet basic psychological needs could reduce attempts to meet psychological needs through alcohol consumption.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 28-10-2023
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 07-2017
DOI: 10.1002/PER.2108
Abstract: We sought to disambiguate the quantitative and qualitative components of mindfulness profiles, examine whether including ‘nonattachment’ as a subcomponent of mindfulness alters the profiles, and evaluate the extent to which the person–centred approach to understanding mindfulness adds predictive power beyond a more parsimonious variable–centred approach. Using data from a nationally representative s le of Americans ( N = 7884 52% female Age: M = 47.9, SD = 16), we utilized bifactor exploratory structural equation modelling and latent profile analysis to separate the level and shape of previously identified profiles of mindfulness (Pearson, Lawless, Brown, & Bravo, 2015). Consistent with past research, we identified a judgmentally observing profile and a non–judgmentally aware group, but inconsistent with past research, we did not find profiles that showed high or low levels on all specific aspects of mindfulness. Adding nonattachment did not alter the shape of the profiles. Profile membership was meaningfully related to demographic variables. In models testing the distinctive predictive utility of the profiles, the judgmentally observing profile, compared to the other profiles, showed the highest levels of mental ill–health, but also the highest levels of life satisfaction and effectiveness. We discuss the implications of our study for clinical interventions and understanding the varieties of mindfulness. Copyright © 2017 European Association of Personality Psychology
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 05-10-2023
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Date: 09-2021
DOI: 10.1037/BUL0000338
No related grants have been discovered for Emma Bradshaw.