Motivation and emotion/Book/2015/Empowerment motivation

Empowerment motivation:
What is empowerment and how can it be fostered in ourselves and others?

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What is Empowerment?

Definition

Empowerment is a term used to describe feelings of control and having the ability to make autonomous decisions. To be empowered has been described as feeling confident and optimistic about circumstances and having feelings of power to act on those emotions. Empowerment is largely related to self-efficacy but also incorporates feelings of personal control and hope (Reeve, 2015). Feelings of empowerment can be fostered through an individual’s self efficacy, confidence, optimism and mastery beliefs.

Empowerment allows an individual to change their responses to failure and believe that control over circumstances is possible. It is through self-efficacy that empowerment can start to be achieved (Reeve, 2015). Albert Bandura (1997) describes self-efficacy as the belief that an individual has control and it is through these beliefs that an individual is able to master goals and sustain commitments. Furthermore, it is through these beliefs that an individual can gain mastery over beliefs and feel as though change is possible. This enhances feelings of hope, confidence and optimism which are all important in fostering empowerment.

Important Factors

The process of fostering empowerment is about personal growth and development (Barak et al., 2008). It has been described as both a process and an outcome (Miguel et al., 2015). Empowering processes can include learning new skills and adopting behaviours to exert control over circumstances (Zimmerman, 2000). Reeve (2015) describes empowerment as having the knowledge, skills and beliefs to exercise control over life. It is through these processes that the outcome of empowerment can be achieved. But first an individual needs to develop self-efficacy, confidence, optimism and mastery beliefs.

These four concepts start the process of fostering empowerment. Fostering empowerment is a process that involves strong feelings of competence and control which are first and largely gained through high self-efficacy beliefs. Therefore, to foster empowerment an individual needs to change responses to failure, fight feelings of helplessness and doubt and focus on building confidence and self-efficacy. Doing this will lead to improving mastery beliefs and optimism so that an individual is able to exert control over behaviours and actions which will lead to empowerment.

Perspectives on Empowerment

From a cognitive-motivational perspective, empowerment can be fostered through motivational resources of high hope individuals. This is fostered through confidence, self-efficacy, optimism and mastery beliefs. It has been found that high-hope individuals are able to achieve better results and cope better with circumstances then low-hope individuals (Snyder et al., 2002 as cited in Reeve, 2015). Therefore, the cognitive motivational perspective of hope can also be applied to fostering empowerment.

Empowerment has also been described as being accessed through cognitive, emotional and behavioural components (Miguel et al., 2015, Christens et al., 2013). This perspective describes empowerment as a process where an individual is able to change their beliefs and gain control over their lives. This perspective uses a different model, however, in essence it emphasises the importance of hope and optimism and describes empowerment as both a process and an outcome just as the cognitive-motivational perspective does.

Furthermore, Albert Bandura’s (1997) concept of self-efficacy lays important foundations for the perspective of empowerment. Bandura (1997) emphasises the importance of self-efficacy in gaining personal control over life. Self-efficacy is concerned with an individual’s capability of feeling in control and motivated to adjust circumstances if they are willing to do so (Ozer & Bandura, 1990). Self-efficacy is related to the ability to cope with circumstances and cognitions (Ozer & Bandura, 1990).

Importance of Empowerment

The concept of empowerment is important as it can help individualsto identify solutions to problems and actively engage in actions to address those problems (Peterson, 2014). Empowering processes allow individuals to gain mastery and control over issues of importance that can lead to outcomes of awareness, control and participation (Zimmerman & Warschausky, 1998). Empowerment can be quite an individualistic and dynamic process (Foster-Fishman et al., 1998). However, most research refers to the concept of empowerment as encompassing appropriate beliefs that lead to the outcome of personal development and empowerment.

An Example...

So what are appropriate beliefs?

Here is an example to illustrate this point.

Ally feels helpless, doubts all her abilities and avoids going out in public because she fears social rejection. Ally is depressed and experience anxiety about many situations.

For Ally to feel empowered she first needs to gain a sense of self-efficacy and confidence. Ally has to believe that she is control and responsible for her behaviours. She has to accept that she will inevitably experience emotions, but that emotions are normal and are part of being a human. Self-efficacy isn’t necessarily about changing negative thoughts and replacing them with good ones, it’s about believing that you are in control and that your emotions don’t have to control your behaviour and your life.

Often depressed individuals will feel a sense of hopelessness and doubt, and will often have feelings of not being in control. However, it is important to remember that the first step in empowerment is realising that you do have control and it is through your thinking that you are able to exert that control.

Empowerment is not necessarily about making all things great but it is about realising that you have control over all the choices that you make. It is about accepting that negative events and negative emotions are a part of life but that you have the power to exercise control over what you choose to do with those circumstances. It is about accepting that you have emotions and thoughts but that you also have the power to control your actions to those cognitive experiences. Knowing this can help Ally build confidence and optimism.

How? Let’s continue by discussing the theoretical framework around empowerment

Theoretical Framework of Empowerment

Empowerment is a concept that has been defined in many different ways. However, fostering empowerment can be understood through a cognitive motivational framework in psychology. Empowerment can be understood as a process and an outcome in which an individual gains control over circumstances and has a belief that they can actively engage in a resolution to whatever problem or issue that may be of concern.

From a cognitive motivational perspective, empowerment can set its foundations and framework in a model of hope. From this perspective, high-hope individuals are able to access motivation through personal control beliefs of confidence, self-efficacy, optimism and mastery beliefs (Reeve, 2015). This model compliments the process of fostering empowerment and it is through this model that other aspects of empowerment can also be derived. Other models that can help make sense of the concept of empowerment include cognitive, emotional and behavioural components of Empowerment Theory, Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory of Human Agency and Mastery Modelling Programmes.

The model of hope sets the foundations for empowerment. It is through hope that an individual is able to address feelings of inadequacy and doubt. For an individual to feel empowered they must first accept that fostering empowerment is both a process and an outcome and that the steps towards empowerment are gradual and will take time and effort

The first step in the process of fostering empowerment is gaining a sense of confidence and developing high self-efficacy. Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory of Human Agency describes self efficacy as the ability to feel in control over the quality of one’s life (Bandura, 2001 as cited in Petri & Govern, 2013). Bandura takes a holistic approach to self-efficacy and believes that cognitive, emotional and behavioural components are all important to human experiences (Petri & Govern, 2013). Bandura’s theory is linked to personal control and the ability of an individual to be able to exercise control over their belief about circumstances and events. It is through efficacious thinking that an individual is able to tackle feelings of helplessness and doubt and gain confidence over individual circumstances.

Furthermore, Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory compliments Empowerment Theories which also emphasise the importance of behavioural, emotional and cognitive components of human experience. Empowerment Theories describe empowerment as a process whereby people gain control and develop a higher sense of self-concept and power to achieve goals (Cattaneo & Chapman, 2010; Guerrettaz & Arkin, 2015; Miguel et al., 2015).

Self-efficacy is also linked to feelings of optimism. Optimism doesn’t necessarily mean seeing the positive in everything that occurs. But recognising that hardships can be a part of life but an individual has control over life choices and the option to change personal circumstances. Optimism is about being realistic and confident about personal challenges (Tucker-Ladd, 2004).

The processes of self-efficacy, confidence and optimism can then lead to an outcome of mastery beliefs and hope. The Mastery Modelling Programme is a model that structures personal control beliefs so that an individual can work through problems and goals by breaking concepts down (Reeve, 2015).

These models can be helpful in understanding the process of fostering empowerment and applying it to an individuals’ life. Empowerment is about gaining insight into thoughts, actions and behaviours so that confidence and a higher self-efficacy can be built. It is a process that takes time and persistence, optimism, mastery and hope.

Theory & Research

There have been a few studies that have illustrated the process of fostering empowerment. Studies have focused on self-efficacy as the process and empowerment as an outcome. These studies illustrate how self efficacy has been used for empowerment.

Ozer and Bandura (1990) studied the effects of a mastery modelling programme as a mechanism to foster empowerment in a group of women. The women’s empowerment was adjusted through a self defence programme that was aimed at enhancing the women’s self-efficacy beliefs and coping mechanisms. The mastery modelling programme was used to target beliefs about sexual assault and enhance the women’s coping strategies. The study found that through teaching the women skills about self defence and helping them feel more in control over the situation the women reported feeling more empowered and capable of dealing with the situation.

In another study it was found that online support groups were able to foster empowerment. They found that online support groups that enhanced an individual’s sense of well-being, control and confidence were beneficial in fostering empowerment and in coping with stressful situations (Barak et al., 2008). Furthermore, a study on self-doubt found that confidence was important when dealing with uncertainty and had a large effect on an individual’s beliefs about their abilities and what they could accomplish (Guerrettaz & Arkin, 2015). Both these studies support that confidence and control are important factors to individual feelings of empowerment.

Furthermore, another found that optimism played an important role in self-efficacy and cognitive performance. In this study on self efficacy it was found that optimism had a positive effect on cognitive tasks (Niemiec & Lachowicz-Tabaczek, 2015). This supports that optimism may be important in establishing appropriate cognitive beliefs. Furthermore, it supports the connection between optimism and mastery over personal beliefs.

References

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman.

Barak, A., Boniel-Nissim, M., & Suler, J. (2008). Fostering empowerment in online support groups. Computers in Human Behavior, 24(5), 1867-1883.

Cattaneo, L. B., & Chapman, A. R. (2010). The process of empowerment: A model for use in research and practice. American Psychologist, 65(7), 646-659.

Christens, B., Collura, J., & Tahir, F. (2013). Critical hopefulness: A person-centered analysis of the intersection of cognitive and emotional empowerment. American Journal of Community Psychology 52, 170-184.

Foster-Fishman, P. G., Salem, D. A., Chibnall, S., Legler, R., & Yapchai, C. (1998). Empirical support for the critical assumptions of empowerment theory. American Journal of Community Psychology,26(4), 507-536.

Guerrettaz, J. & Arkin, R. (2015). Who am I? How asking the question changes the answer. Self and Identity, 14(1), 90-103. Miguel, M. C., Ornelas, J. H., & Maroco, J. P. (2015). defining psychological empowerment construct: Analysis of three empowerment scales. Journal of Community Psychology, 43(7), 900-919.

Niemiec, T. & Lachowicz-Tabaczek, K. (2015). The moderating role of specific self-efficacy in the impact of positive mood on cognitive performance. Motivation and Emotion, 39, 498-505.

Ozer, E. M., & Bandura, A. (1990). Mechanisms governing empowerment effects: A self-efficacy analysis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58(3), 472-486.

Peterson, N. A. (2014). Empowerment theory: Clarifying the nature of higher-order multidimensional constructs. American Journal of Community Psychology, 53(1), 96-108.

Petri, H & Govern, L. (2013). Motivation: Theory, Research and Application (6th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Reeve, J. (2015). Understanding Motivation and Emotion (6th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.

Tucker-Ladd, C. (2004). Psychological Self-Help. Retrieved from http://www.psychologicalselfhelp.org/

Zimmerman, M. A. (2000). Empowerment theory: Psychological, organizational and community levels of analysis. In Rappaport, J. & Seidman, E. (Eds.), Handbook of community psychology. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

Zimmerman, M. A., & Warschausky, S. (1998). Empowerment theory for rehabilitation research: Conceptual and methodological issues. Rehabilitation Psychology, 43(1), 3-16.