TheMotivatorsOrientations

Questionnaires

DescriptionofScales
TheProblemsinSchoolsQuestionnaireandtheProblemsatWorkQuestionnaireweredeveloped
usingthesameformatandthesamebasicconcept.Eachassesseswhetherindividualsina
positionofauthority,whosejobis,inpart,tomotivateothers,tendtobeorientedtoward
controllingthebehaviorofthoseothersversussupportingtheirautonomy.TheProblemsin
SchoolsQuestionnaire(PIS)assesseswhetherteacherstendtobecontrollingversusautonomy
supportivewiththeirstudents.TheProblemsatWorkQuestionnaire(PAW)assesseswhether
managerstendtobecontrollingversusautonomysupportivewiththeiremployees.The
measuresarecomposedofeightvignettes,eachofwhichisfollowedbyfouritems.Thefour
itemsfollowingeachvignetterepresentfourdifferentbehavioraloptionsfordealingwiththe
problemthatisposedinthevignette:oneisHighlyAutonomySupportive(HA),oneis
ModeratelyAutonomySupportive(MA),oneisModeratelyControlling(MC),andoneisHighly
Controlling(HC).Respondentsratethedegreeofappropriatenessofeachofthefouroptions(on
asevenpointscale)foreachoftheeightsituations.Thus,thereareatotalof32ratings.

NotethattheMotivatorsOrientationsQuestionnaires(PISandPAW)weredesignedtobe
completedbytheteachersandthemanagers,respectively.Incontrast,theSDTbasedscales
referredtoasthePerceivedAutonomySupport(TheClimate)Questionnairesweredesignedto
becompletedbythepeoplebeingmotivatedthatis,bythestudentsabouttheirteachers
autonomysupportversuscontrolandbythesubordinatesabouttheirmanagersautonomy
supportversuscontrol.

Thisscalesarebelievedtomeasurearelativelystableorientationinadultstowardtheirapproach
tomotivatingothers;inotherwords,itisbelievedtoreflectanindividualdifferencevariablein
themotivators.Theresponsesareintermsofbehavioraloptions,butthesearebelievedtoreflect
characteristicsoftherespondent.

DescriptionofTheProblemsinSchoolsQuestionnaire(PIS)

ThePISwasdesignedforuseinschools,withteacherscompletingthescaleabouttheirown
orientationtowardmotivatingstudents,andthestudiesbyDeci,Schwartz,Sheinman,andRyan
(1981)validatedthescaleforuseinthatway.Ithasalsobeenusedwithparents,whoreporton
theirapproachtomotivatingtheirchildren.
ThePIS,withitsreliabilityandvalidity,isdescribedin:

Deci,E.L.,Schwartz,A.J.,Sheinman,L.,&Ryan,R.M.(1981).Aninstrumentto
assessadults'orientationstowardcontrolversusautonomywithchildren:Reflectionson
intrinsicmotivationandperceivedcompetence.JournalofEducationalPsychology,73,642
650.

Reeve,J.,Bolt,E.,&Cai,Y.(1999).Autonomysupportiveteachers:Howtheyteach
andmotivatestudents.JournalofEducationalPsychology,91,537548.

DescriptionofTheProblemsatWorkQuestionnaire(PAW)

ThePAWwasdesignedformanagersandwasvalidatedinastudybyDeci,Connell,andRyan
(1989).Thestudyindicated,forexample,thatmanagerswhowereorientedmoretoward
supportingtheirsubordinatesautonomyhadsubordinateswhoweremoresatisfiedwiththeirjobs
andhadahigherleveloftrustintheorganization.

ThePAW,withitsreliabilityandvalidity,isdescribedin:

Deci,E.L.,Connell,J.P.,&Ryan,R.M.(1989).Selfdeterminationinawork
organization.JournalofAppliedPsychology,74,580590.
TheProblemsinSchoolsQuestionnaire(PIS)

Onthefollowingpagesyouwillfindaseriesofvignettes.Eachonedescribesanincidentand
thenlistsfourwaysofrespondingtothesituation.Pleasereadeachvignetteandthenconsider
eachresponsesinturn.Thinkabouteachresponseoptionintermsofhowappropriateyou
considerittobeasameansofdealingwiththeproblemdescribedinthevignette.Youmay
mighttheoptiontobeperfect,inotherwords,extremelyappropriateinwhichcaseyou
wouldrespondwiththenumber7,.Youmightconsidertheresponsehighlyinappropriate,in
whichcasewouldrespondwiththenumber1.Ifyoufindtheoptionreasonableyouwouldselect
somenumberbetween1and7.Sothinkabouteachoptionandrateitonthescaleshownbelow.
Pleaserateeachofthefouroptionsforeachvignette.Thereareeightvignetteswithfouroptions
foreach.

Therearenorightorwrongratingsontheseitems.Peoplesstylesdiffer,andwearesimply
interestedinwhatyouconsiderappropriategivenyourownstyle.

Someofthestoriesaskwhatyouwoulddoasateacher.Othersaskyoutorespondasifyou
weregivingadvicetoanotherteacherortoaparent.Someaskyoutorespondasifyouwerethe
parent.Ifyouarenotaparent,simplyimaginewhatitwouldbelikeforyouinthatsituation.

Pleaserespondtoeachofthe32itemsusingthefollowingscale.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
very moderately very
inappropriate appropriate appropriate

A. Jimisanaveragestudentwhohasbeenworkingatgradelevel.Duringthepasttwo
weekshehasappearedlistlessandhasnotbeenparticipatingduringreadinggroup.The
workhedoesisaccuratebuthehasnotbeencompletingassignments.Aphone
conversationwithhismotherrevealednousefulinformation.Themostappropriatething
forJimsteachertodois:

1. Sheshouldimpressuponhimtheimportanceoffinishinghisassignmentssincehe
needstolearnthismaterialforhisowngood.

2. Lethimknowthathedoesnthavetofinishallofhisworknowandseeifshe
canhelphimworkoutthecauseofthelistlessness.

3. Makehimstayafterschooluntilthatdaysassignmentsaredone.
 4. Lethimseehowhecompareswiththeotherchildrenintermsofhisassignments
andencouragehimtocatchupwiththeothers.

B. Ataparentconferencelastnight,Mr.andMrs.Greeneweretoldthattheirdaughter
Sarahhasmademoreprogressthanexpectedsincethetimeofthelastconference.All
agreethattheyhopeshecontinuestoimprovesothatshedoesnothavetorepeatthe
grade(whichtheGreeneshavebeenkindofexpectingsincethelastreportcard).Asa
resultoftheconference,theGreenesdecideto:

5. Increaseherallowanceandpromiseheratenspeedifshecontinuestoimprove.

6. Tellherthatshesnowdoingaswellasmanyoftheotherchildreninherclass.

7. Tellheraboutthereport,lettingherknowthattheyreawareofherincreased
independenceinschoolandathome.

8. Continuetoemphasizethatshehastoworkhardtogetbettergrades.

C. Donnyloseshistemperalotandhasawayofagitatingotherchildren.Hedoesnt
respondwelltowhatyoutellhimtodoandyoureconcernedthathewontlearnthe
socialskillsheneeds.Thebestthingforyoutodowithhimis:

9. Emphasizehowimportantitisforhimtocontrolhimselfinordertosucceed
inschoolandinothersituations.

10. Puthiminaspecialclasswhichhasthestructureandrewardcontingencieswhich
heneeds.

11. Helphimseehowotherchildrenbehaveinthesevarioussituationsandpraisehim
fordoingthesame.

12. RealizethatDonnyisprobablynotgettingtheattentionheneedsandstartbeing
moreresponsivetohim.

D. Yoursonisoneofthebetterplayersonhisjuniorsoccerteamwhichhasbeenwinning
mostofitsgames.However,youareconcernedbecausehejusttoldyouhefailedhis
unitspellingtestandwillhavetoretakeitthedayaftertomorrow.Youdecidethatthe
bestthingtodois:
 13. Askhimtotalkabouthowheplanstohandlethesituation.

14. Tellhimheprobablyoughttodecidetoforegotomorrowsgamesohecancatch
upinspelling.

15. Seeifothersareinthesamepredicamentandsuggesthedoasmuchpreparation
astheothers.

16. Makehimmisstomorrowsgametostudy;soccerhasbeeninterferingtoomuch
withhisschoolwork.

E. TheRangersspellinggrouphasbeenhavingtroubleallyear.HowcouldMissWilson
besthelptheRangers?

17. HaveregularspellingbeessothatRangerswillbemotivatedtodoaswellasthe
othergroups.

18. Makethemdrillmoreandgivethemspecialprivilegesforimprovements.

19. Haveeachchildkeepaspellingchartandemphasizehowimportantitistohavea
goodchart.

20. Helpthegroupdevisewaysoflearningthewordstogether(skits,games,andso
on).

F. InyourclassisagirlnamedMargywhohasbeenthebuttofjokesforyears.Sheisquiet
andusuallyalone.Inspiteoftheeffortsofpreviousteachers,Margyhasnotbeen
acceptedbytheotherchildren.Yourwisdomwouldguideyouto:

21. Prodherintointeractionsandprovideherwithmuchpraiseforanysocial
initiative.

22. Talktoherandemphasizethatsheshouldmakefriendssoshellbehappier.

23. Invitehertotalkaboutherrelationswiththeotherkids,andencouragehertotake
smallstepswhenshesready.

24. Encouragehertoobservehowotherchildrenrelateandtojoininwiththem.
G. Forthepastfewweeksthingshavebeendisappearingfromtheteachersdeskandlunch
moneyhasbeentakenfromsomeofthechildrensdesks.Today,Marvinwasseenby
theteachertakingasilverdollarpaperweightfromherdesk.Theteacherphoned
Marvinsmotherandspoketoheraboutthisincident.Althoughtheteachersuspects
thatMarvinhasbeenresponsiblefortheotherthefts,shementionedonlytheoneand
assuredthemotherthatshellkeepacloseeyeonMarvin.Thebestthingforthemother
todois:

25. Talktohimabouttheconsequencesofstealingandwhatitwouldmeaninrelation
totheotherkids.

26. Talktohimaboutit,expressingherconfidenceinhimandattemptingto
understandwhyhedidit.

27. Givehimagoodscolding;stealingissomethingwhichcannotbetoleratedandhe
hastolearnthat.

28. Emphasizethatitwaswrongandhavehimapologizetotheteacherandpromise
nottodoitagain.

H. Yourchildhasbeengettingaveragegrades,andyoudliketoseeherimprove.Auseful
approachmightbeto:

29. Encouragehertotalkaboutherreportcardandwhatitmeansforher.

30. Gooverthereportcardwithher;pointoutwhereshestandsintheclass.

31. Stressthatsheshoulddobetter;shellnevergetintocollegewithgradeslike
these.

32. OfferheradollarforeveryAand50centsforeveryBonfuturereportcards.

ScoringInformation.Theprocedureforscoringthequestionnairebeginsbyaveragingthe
eightratingsineachofthefourcategories.Thefourcategoriesarehighlycontrolling(HC),
moderatelycontrolling(MC),moderatelyautonomysupportive(MA),andhighlyautonomy
supportive(HA).Thefoursubscalescores(composedoftheaverageoftheeightresponsesfor
thatsubscale)canbeusedseparately,inmultivariateanalyses,ortheycanbecombinedintoone
overallreflectionoftheAdultsOrientationTowardControlVersusAutonomySupportwith
Children.Theoriginalprocedureforcombiningthefoursubscalesintoonetotalscalescore,as
describedinDeci,Schwartz,Sheinman,andRyan(1981)involvedweightingtheaverageforthe
highlycontrollingresponseswitha2(minustwo);weightingthemoderatelycontrollingaverage
with1(minusone);weightingtheaverageforthemoderatelyautonomysupportivesubscales
with+1;andweightingtheaverageforhighlyautonomysupportivesubscalewith+2.The
algebraicsumreflectstheadultsorientationstowardcontrolversusautonomysupport,witha
higherscorereflectingamoreautonomysupportiveorientationandalowerscoreoramore
negativescorereflectingamorecontrollingorientation.However,morerecentwork(e.g.,
Reeve,Bolt,&Cai,inpress)hasindicatedthatthesocalledmoderatelyautonomysupportive
subscaleactuallyactsmorelikeaSlightlyControllingsubscale.Accordingly,Reeveetal.
recommendedweightingtheMAsubscale0(zero),ratherthan1(minus1).Theitemsmaking
upthesubscalesareasfollows.

HC 3,5,10,16,18,21,27,32

MC 1,8,9,14,19,22,28,31

MA 4,6,11,15,17,24,25,30

HA 2,7,12,13,20,23,26,29

References

Deci,E.L.,Schwartz,A.J.,Sheinman,L.,&Ryan,R.M.(1981).Aninstrumentto
assessadults'orientationstowardcontrolversusautonomywithchildren:Reflectionson
intrinsicmotivationandperceivedcompetence.JournalofEducationalPsychology,73,642
650.

Reeve,J.,Bolt,E.,&Cai,Y.(1999).Autonomysupportiveteachers:Howtheyteach
andmotivatestudents.JournalofEducationalPsychology,91,537548.
TheProblemsatWorkQuestionnaire(PAW)

Onthefollowingpagesyouwillfindaseriesofvignettes.Eachonedescribesanincidentand
thenlistsfourwaysofrespondingtothesituation.Pleasereadeachvignetteandthenconsider
eachresponseinturn.Thinkabouteachresponseoptionintermsofhowappropriateyou
considerittobeasmeansofdealingwiththeproblemdescribedinthevignette,andthenrateit
onthesevenpointscale.Youmayfindtheoptiontobe"perfect,"inotherwords,"extremely
appropriate"inwhichcaseyouwouldratetheoptiona7.Youmayconsidertheresponsehighly
inappropriateinwhichcaseyoumightrateita1.Ifyoufindtheoptionreasonableyouwould
selectsomenumberbetween1and7asitsrating.Sothinkabouteachoptionandrateitonthe
accompanyingscale.Pleaserateeachofthefouroptionsforeachvignette.Thereareeight
vignetteswithfouroptionsforeach,foratotalof32items.
Therearenorightorwrongratingsontheseitems.People'sstylesdiffer,andweare
simplyinterestedinwhatyouconsiderappropriategivenyourownstyle.
Ineachcase,thestoriesaskaboutwhatistheappropriatethingforthesupervisortodo.
Someportrayyouasthesupervisorandsomeaskwhatyouthinkisappropriateforanother
supervisortodo.Whilesomeofthesesituationsmaynotbeonesthatwouldariseinyour
specificwork,simplyimaginewhatitwouldbelikeforyouinthatsituation,andrespond
accordingly.Inratingeachitem,pleaseusethefollowingscale:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7
very moderately very
inappropriate appropriate appropriate

A. Jim,anemployeeforseveralyears,hasgenerallydoneworkonaparwithothersinhis
branch.However,forthepastcoupleofweekshehasappearedpreoccupiedandlistless.
Theworkhehasdoneisgoodbuthehasmadefewercallsthanusual.Themost
appropriatethingforJim'ssupervisortodois:

1. ImpressuponJimthatitisreallyimportanttokeepupwithhisworkforhisown
good.

2. TalktoJimandtrytohelphimworkoutthecauseofhislistlessness.

3. Warnhimthatifhecontinuestoworkataslowerrate,somenegativeaction
mightbetaken.

4. Lethimseehowhisproductivitycompareswiththatofhiscoworkersand
encouragehimtocatchup.
B. Nancy,oneofyouremployees,hasbeengoingtonightschoolworkingtowardher
degree.Shehasbeenworkinghardatit,doingextremelywellandisproudofher
accomplishments.However,youareconcerned,becausesheisveryhardtoworkwith
wheneverthepressureatschoolishigh.Youdecidethebestthingtodois:

5. Askhertotalkouthowsheplanstohandlethesituation.

6. Tellherthatsheoughttowatchthebalancebetweenworkandschoolandsuggest
sheputmoreofherenergiesintoherjob.

7. Pointouthowotherworking"students"havehandledtheproblemandseeifthat
helpsherhandlethesituationbetter.

8. Insistthatshecutdownonthestudyingortakefewercourses;youcan'tallowit
tointerferewithwork.

C. Oneoftheworkteamsinanotherbranchhasbeendoingmorepoorlythantheother
groupsallyear.Theappropriatewayforthatmanagertohandlethesituationwouldbeto:

9. Tellthemthatperformancehastoimproveandofferthemtangibleincentivesto
improve.

10. Letthemknowhowtheotherteamsareperformingsotheywillbemotivatedto
doaswell.

11. Havesomediscussionswiththeteamasawholeandfacilitatetheirdevisingsome
solutionsforimprovingoutput.

12. Keeparecordofeachindividual'sproductivityandemphasizethatitisan
importantperformanceindex.

D. ForsometimeJack'sdowntimeshavebeenatasteady,averagelevel.Yoususpect
howeverthathecoulddobetter.Ausefulapproachmightbeto:

13. EncourageJacktotalkabouthisperformanceandwhethertherearewaysto
improve.

14. StresstoJackthatheshoulddobetter,andthathewon'tgetaheadifhecontinues
athiscurrentlevel.
 15. Gooveryourevaluationwithhimandpointouthisrelativestandingwithothers.

16. Watchhimmoreclosely;praisehimforincreasedoutput,andpointoutwhenever
hefallsbehind.

E. Recentchangesintheoperationhaveresultedinaheavierworkloadforallthe
employees.Barbara,themanager,hadhopedthesituationwouldbetemporary,buttoday
shelearnedthatherbranchwouldneedtocontinuetoworkwiththereducedstaffforan
indefiniteperiod.Barbarashould:

17. Pointoutthatheremployeeswillkeeptheirownjobsonlyiftheycanremain
productiveatthecurrentrate;andthenwatchtheiroutputcarefully.

18. Explainthesituationandseeiftheyhavesuggestionsabouthowtheycouldmeet
thecurrentdemands.

19. Tellallofheremployeesthattheyshouldkeeptryingbecauseitistotheir
advantagetodoso.

20. Encourageheremployeestokeepupwiththeworkloadbypointingoutthat
peoplearedoingitadequatelyinotherbranches.

F. Thereisoneassignmentinyourterritorywhichisregardedbyallastheworst.Itinvolves
aregularvisittoanunpleasantbuildingtoworkonequipmentthatistypicallyabused.It
hasbeengiventotheemployeewiththeleastseniority.However,Dave,theman
currentlyassignedtothisjobhasbeendoingitforsometime,asnoonenewhasbeen
hired.Whileheisgenerallyverycooperativeandsatisfiedinotherrespects,Daveseems
tobeincreasinglyresentfulaboutthisjob,inpartbecauseit'sanobjectofjokesand
chidingfromhispeers.Dave'smanagermight:

21. Lethimknowthattheotherpeopleathislevelalsohavetoputupwithunpleasant
aspectsoftheirjobs,andgivehimafewexamplesofthese.

22. Beclearwithhimthatitishisresponsibilityandbesurehecontinuestodoit.

23. Talktohimaboutthejob,seeifhecanworkthroughsomeofhisfeelingsaboutit
andthejokesthatgetdirectedathim.

24. Pointoutthatthejobisfairlyassignedbaseduponseniority,andthatsucha
systemworksforDave'sowngoodaswellasothers'.
G. Harry,whomanagesthepartsdepartment,seemstobecreatingsomethingofa
bottleneck.Importantpartsareoften"onorder"andnotinstock,andheoftenisslowin
meetingshortnoticedemandsand"emergency"situations.Thebestthingforhis
supervisortodois:

25. Emphasizehowimportantitisforhimtokeepupwithordersandemphasizethat
heshouldmeetongoingdemands.

26. Lethimknowhowotherpeopleincomparablepositionsaremanagingtokeepup,
sohecanthinkaboutit.Thismighthelphimfigureouthowtobetterkeepup.

27. Insistthattheordersbedonewithinaspecifiedtimelimit,andchecktobesurehe
ismeetingthedeadlines.

28. FindoutfromHarrywhathethinksiswrongandseeifyoucanhelphimfigure
outhowtobetterorganizehisoperation.

H. Oneofthecustomershasletyouknowthatheisnotverysatisfiedwiththeattitudeofhis
servicerepresentative.Thethingforyoutodomightbe:

29. Raisethematterwithyoursubordinatetoseewhathasbeengoingonforhimin
dealingwiththatcustomer.

30. Pointoutthatcustomersatisfactionisimportantandthatheshouldworkon
relatingbettertothecustomer.

31. Showhimsomewaysthatothersrelatetotheircustomerssohecancomparehis
ownstyletoothers.

32. Tellhimtoseetoitthatthecustomerismoresatisfiedandlethimknowyouwill
becheckinguponhim.

ScoringInformation.Theprocedureforscoringthequestionnairebeginsbyaveragingthe
eightratingsineachofthefourcategories.Thefourcategoriesarehighlycontrolling(HC),
moderatelycontrolling(MC),moderatelyautonomysupportive(MA),andhighlyautonomy
supportive(HA).Thefoursubscalescores(composedoftheaverageoftheeightresponsesfor
thatsubscale)canbeusedinmultivariateanalyses,ortheycanbecombinedintooneoverall
reflectionoftheManagersOrientationTowardControlVersusAutonomySupport.The
procedureforcombiningthefoursubscalesintoonetotalscalescore,asdescribedinDeci,
Connell,andRyan(1989)involvesweightingtheaverageforthehighlycontrollingresponses
witha2(minustwo);weightingthemoderatelycontrollingaveragewith1(minusone);
weightingtheaverageforthemoderatelyautonomoussubscaleswith+1;andweightingthe
averageforhighlyautonomouswith+2.Thealgebraicsumreflectsthemanagersorientations
towardcontrolversusautonomysupport,withahigherscorereflectingamoreautonomy
supportiveorientationandalowerscoreoramorenegativescorereflectingamorecontrolling
orientation).Theitemsthatmakeupthesubscalesareasfollows.

HC 3,8,9,16,17,22,27,32

MC 1,6,12,14,19,24,25,30

MA 4,7,10,15,20,21,26,31

HA 2,5,11,13,18,23,28,29

References

Deci,E.L.,Connell,J.P.,&Ryan,R.M.(1989).Selfdeterminationinawork
organization.JournalofAppliedPsychology,74,580590.