3C Model of Motivation

On occasions, hopefully rare, one may find it difficult to: continue the course of action, may be because it’s difficult, one doesn’t like it, or suppress a temptation or an impulse, may be because it has negative outcomes, or doesn’t align with one’s goals. Both of these scenarios can be characterised by absence of motivation and if one is like most people, one may try to exert willpower (or self-control) to compensate for motivation.

Hugo Kehr, a motivation researcher at Technical University of Munich, came up with a very simple, yet very effective, model of motivation which not only identifies what’s wrong when one feels the need or urge to exert willpower and what to do when such is the case. His model, named 3C Model of Motivation, highlights three components to motivation: 1) Head (cognitive preferences: goals or things we find important) 2) Heart (affective preferences: things we like) and 3) Hand (ability: skill, knowledge, experience or expertise). In case only 1 is present, we may have extrinsic motivation, in case of 1 and 2, we may have intrinsic motivation and when all three are present we experience flow, the optimal state of being.

According to Kehr, we feel the urge to exert willpower (or self-control) when one lacks intrinsic motivation or simply when there are discrepancies between the Head and the Heart: 1) when one may have a goal (or find something important) but doesn’t like it, Or 2) when one feels tempted do something but it doesn’t match with what one finds important. In these scenarios, one may exert meta-volitional strategies. These can be: 1) motivational (positive fantasies imagining how good one shall feel once one accomplishes a certain goal or negative fantasies when one tries to resist temptation), 2) emotional (trying to control emotions in order to match the situation), or 3) attentional (trying to keep attention to things intended). All these require willpower or self-control and everyone knows willpower is a temporary fix: 1) is unreliable (can escape when one needs it the most) 2) is strenuous (needs loads of effort) and 3) gets depleted. The discrepancies between the Head and the Heart lead to demotivation, unfulfillment and eventual burn out.

In contrast, Kehr proposes strategies that are meta-motivational which aim at reducing the discrepancies between the Head and the Heart. The strategies can be lumped together in three categories depending upon which component of the motivation is missing. In order to identify the missing component, one can run a 3C check: 1) Starting with the Head: one seeks out why does one find a goal important, what’s the goal behind the goal, and are there any goal conflicts 2) Heart: one visualises how shall it be when one works toward a certain goal? Which parts of the goal pursuit one likes and which parts one doesn’t? Are there any belly aches, or fears 3) Hand: does one have the skills and knowledge to accomplish the goal? Has one realised similar goals in the past? In case Hand is lacking, one may increase one’s ability, find guidance, mentorship or assistance, or engage in learning. In case Head is deficient, one can convince oneself why is the goal important, resolve any goal conflicts, increase goal commitment, incentivise the goal, or reprioritise goals. And in case Heart is lacking, one can find emotional support, motivators, avoid negative self motivation (fears), and develop a compelling vision for why one should pursue the goal.

Reference:

Self-Management Training (SMT): Theoretical and Empirical Foundations for the Development of a Metamotivational and Metavolitional Intervention Program