Autonomy And Positive Psychology: Understanding The Uses And Benefits

However, autonomy in psychology is a concept with a significant number of associated definitions and applications. One subfield of psychology, positive psychology, utilizes personal autonomy to encourage self-determination and positive outcomes in individuals and their communities. Understanding the relevance of autonomy in positive psychology may help you further understand how autonomy can benefit an individual's personal development and happiness.

What is positive psychology?

According to the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, USA, positive psychology is the scientific study of strengths that enable the flourishing of individuals and communities. This school of thought is founded on the understanding that people have a desire to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives through which they cultivate the best within themselves while enhancing their life experiences of love, work, and play.

Martin E.P. Seligman, Ph.D. (considered the father of positive psychology) and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi stated in their article "Positive Psychology: An Introduction" that psychiatry and psychology's exclusive focus on pathology and a disease-model of human functioning has dominated the field so much that it resulted in "a model of the human being without any features that make life worth living, such as hope, wisdom, creativity, future mindedness, courage, spirituality, responsibility, and perseverance."

Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi suggest that psychology should help determine the types of family dynamics that help children flourish and the type of work milieu that supports and satisfies laborers. Regarding politics, they suggest that psychology should investigate what policies would ensure the strongest civic engagement and document how people's lives can be most worth living.

Yet, the authors state that psychologists have scant knowledge of what makes life worth living. "They have come to understand quite a bit about how people survive and endure under conditions of adversity. However, (they) know little about how normal people flourish under more benign conditions." According to Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi, one aim of positive psychology is to be an agent of change in the focus of psychology. 

Positive psychologists aim to treat mental health conditions and build resilience and personal fulfillment in people by helping them discover their unique talents and strengths. A person without autonomy may struggle to explore their identity and strengths, being influenced by internal and external restrictions. 

Self-determination theory

Positive psychology is associated with the self-determination theory, formulated in the 1970s by researchers Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan. This theory challenged the dominant psychological dogma at the time that the best way to get people to perform tasks was based on rewards to reinforce behaviors. 

In contrast, self-determination theory suggests that human motivation, personality, and optimal functioning arise out of three human psychological needs called universal necessities. These needs were as follows: 

1. A need for Competence: This need explores the human desire to control one's environment effectively while understanding the outcomes. 
2. A need for Relatedness or Belonging: Relatedness refers to the human desire to connect with, relate to, and care for others. Social interactions that reinforce an individual’s place within a group can satisfy the need to belong. 
3. A need for autonomy: Deci and Ryan view autonomy as more than the lack of dependence on others. To them, autonomy refers to the vital human need for a sense of free will when acting in one's interest. Autonomy allows an individual to control the course of their own life, meet their own needs, and pursue personal goals.

Self-determination theory and motivation 

Self-determination theory theorizes and investigates the role of motivation in human experience and happiness, in which autonomy plays a prominent role. Motivation is the energy for action or that which moves people to act. Deci and Ryan distinguish between two types of personal motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic.

Intrinsic motivation

Deci and Ryan define intrinsic motivation as the "doing of an activity for its inherent satisfaction rather than for separable consequences." One example of intrinsic motivation is a musician working for the love of their career. A musician may write music and perform their work for enjoyment and fulfillment instead of financial gains. Some successful bands or singers may communicate how they struggled to gain recognition for their art through financial and physical hardship. However, their intrinsic motivation was so intense that they never gave up. Research suggests that there is a close connection between intrinsic motivation and positive emotions like optimism, enthusiasm, and calmness. 

Extrinsic motivation

Extrinsic motivation is "a construct that pertains whenever an activity is done to attain a separable outcome." An illustration of extrinsic motivation could be an example of two women who visit the gym regularly. One woman goes to swim, and the other goes to work out using the machines.  

The latter woman toils and sweats on the machines to improve symptoms of a physical health condition. The other loves swimming for the joy it brings here. For the first woman, the motivator is extrinsic. The motivator is intrinsic for the other, as she is swimming not to gain anything outside of happiness. 

Autonomous motivation 

A person who acts out of volition because they endorse a behavior and have internalized the value of their behavior, is acting from autonomous motivation. They can perceive the intrinsic value of their activities and gain self-advocacy and self-support through their behavior and actions. 

According to the Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences (Springer International Publishing, 2016), autonomy represents a “critical psychological need. It denotes the experience of volition and self-direction in thought, feeling, and action. It refers to the perception of being self-governed rather than controlled by external forces”.

Autonomy is considered a vital part of human life—one that typically develops from early childhood experiences in an individual’s home and social environment. Children given greater autonomy are thought to experience more self-reliance later in life. During adolescence, as young people start to better understand their personality traits and goals, autonomy can be strengthened or weakened by various social, environmental, and biological factors. 

Controlled motivation 

Controlled motivation is the opposite of autonomous motivation. For example, it may be explained with terms like pressure, obligation, and coercion. It can be said that controlled motivation means that external forces, factors, and motivators control a person's actions. 

The history of positive psychology 

Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi state through their research that psychology, in general, had three goals before World War II, including the following: 

• To cure mental illness
• To make the lives of people more fulfilling and productive 
• To identify and foster supreme talent

The principles of positive psychology in the literature of the day were still relatively scarce. They were traceable, however, in the work of Terman et al. on marital happiness and giftedness, Watson's commentary on healthy parenting, and Jung's work on the search for and discovery of the meaning of life for individuals. 

A shift in focus

After World War II, two economic events changed the face of psychology in America, according to the authors. With the founding of the Veterans Administration in 1946, the opportunity for thousands of psychologists to earn a living through treating mental illness became viable. A year later, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) was born, and it became possible for academics to get grants for research in pathology. These events brought about major shifts in focus, including the following: 

1. Enhanced psychological understanding: Enhanced understanding of psychology was a positive consequence of the funded studies conducted after NIMH's development. It resulted in the scientific understanding of, and the ability to relieve symptoms of, around 14 mental illnesses.
2. Improvements for individual living: The two other pre-war goals of psychological study and treatment were forgotten. This change resulted in a shift in how psychologists came to view their place in society, with their empirical focus on assessing and treating individual symptoms. 

A new realization

Author Csikszentmihalyi, who lived through WWII as a child, realized the dire need for a change in European psychology. In his own words: "As a child, I witnessed the dissolution of the smug world in which I had been comfortably ensconced. I noticed with surprise how many of the adults I had known as successful and self-confident became helpless and dispirited once the war removed their social support. Without jobs, money, or status, they were reduced to empty shells."

During this potentially traumatizing time, Csikszentmihalyi also noticed people who remained full of integrity and purpose despite their circumstances, with a serenity that "was a beacon that kept others from losing hope." He also noticed that they were not necessarily those with an excellent education, high social stature, or cool skill, which caused him to ponder the source of their inner strength.

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After researching many disciplines, Csikszentmihalyi found the works of Jung, Freud, and other psychologists of the 1950s. This discovery set him on his path of later studying psychology in America. After many years, he concluded that psychology is not only a study of "pathology, weakness, and damage but a study of strength and virtue." He believed treatment should not be about fixing what is broken but nurturing what already works. 

Benefits of autonomy – Psychology perspectives

Some people may only ask for psychological assistance when in deep turmoil. Furthermore, they might not have been shown how to explore their individual strengths and virtues as motivators for behavior. By helping individuals cultivate a sense of autonomy, positive psychology can be a valuable tool for building resilience, serving society, and finding personal fulfillment. 

Autonomy: “The exploration and reflective awareness” of oneself

According to the American Psychological Association, autonomy is the experience of making independent decisions and acting upon them from choice rather than feeling pressured to act. Positive psychologists consider autonomy to be a fundamental psychological need that predicts well-being. As explained by psychologist Heidi Keller, “autonomy enacts a self-reflective way of being centering on the exploration and reflective awareness of personal desires, wishes and intentions”. Autonomous people decide for themselves how they want to act on these aspirations and feelings. 

Research on the effects of autonomy

Autonomous behavior—the vital human need to act independently—has been shown to benefit several aspects of psychological well-being, leading to greater job satisfaction, self-efficacy, and self-worth. The provision of autonomy by adults in a young person’s life can be particularly important to mental health. For example, researchers in a study published in the Journal of Applied Sport Psychology found that young athletes who were given autonomy support by their coaches and caregivers experienced improved well-being. 

As people age, challenges like cognitive decline and physical illness can limit their ability to feel autonomous. Research suggests that supportive relationships can help alleviate feelings of over-dependence. Additionally, managing symptoms of mental health conditions like depression and anxiety may help individuals address a perceived loss of autonomy.   

Fostering greater autonomy through therapy

If you feel that your actions and behaviors are not based on your intrinsic motivations but influenced by your family, work, or society, you may not be practicing autonomy. Therapy might help you develop your ability to live by self-determination instead of making life choices controlled by external motivators. 

Whether you are living with a mental health condition or want to talk to a professional to develop strategies in self-awareness and positive psychology, a licensed therapist is an option for you to receive support. Positive psychologists work with their clients to develop empowering strategies based on personal strengths and autonomous actions, thus promoting vitality and positivity instead of a disease model. 

Alternative counseling options 

You may struggle to make an appointment with a therapist in person due to cost, transportation limitations, or time constraints. Know that you have an alternative to in-person appointments with the availability of online therapy through platforms like BetterHelp.

Studies have shown that online counseling is a highly effective tool for people challenged by negative thinking and behaviors interrupting their general well-being and happiness. In a study published in Internet Interventions—a peer-reviewed scientific journal—researchers examined the effects of online motivational and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in people with negative thinking patterns and low motivation. Study participants reported positive outcomes, developing strategies to replace negative thinking patterns with affirmative thoughts and actions. 

With an online therapy platform, clients have the autonomous choice between phone, video, or chat sessions with their therapist. In addition, they can choose when to end services or change therapists, depending on their unique needs.