Work motivation and affect regulation capabilities in a group of italian military finance students

Journal title PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE
Author/s Alessia Renzi, Cinzia Di Monte, Luigi Cinque, Alessandra Coscarelli, Manuela Tomai, Debora Camicia
Publishing Year 2023 Issue 2023/2
Language English Pages 17 P. 67-83 File size 266 KB
DOI 10.3280/PDS2023-002005
DOI is like a bar code for intellectual property: to have more infomation click here

Below, you can see the article first page

If you want to buy this article in PDF format, you can do it, following the instructions to buy download credits

Article preview

FrancoAngeli is member of Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA), a not-for-profit association which run the CrossRef service enabling links to and from online scholarly content.

Motivation in the workplace has been a central topic in regard to both theoretical and or-ganisational issues. The aim of this study was to examine the association between affect regu-lation capabilities levels and different motivational dimensions according to the self-determination theory in military students. Following questionnaires were administered to 198 Italian military finance students (183 male): a sociodemographic questionnaire, the 20-itemToronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and the Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale (MWMS). Data analysis showed that the high affect regulation capabilities group scored sig-nificantly higher in autonomous motivation compared to the intermediate and low affect capa-bilities groups and significantly lower in external motivation. Meanwhile, the low affect regu-lation capabilities group scored significant higher in amotivation compared to the intermediate and high affect regulation capabilities groups. The results confirmed the association between abilities in emotional regulation and motivational dimension scores. Further studies are needed to confirm these preliminary results, which could orientate the selection and training of future military students.

Keywords: self-determination theory, work motivation, affect regulation, military organization.

  1. Andersson-Arntén A. C. (2009). Affect, coping and health: Effects of partner relationship and work stress (Doctoral dissertation). University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg.
  2. Andersson-Arntén A. C., Algafoor N. A., Nima A. A., Schütz E., Archer T. & Garcia D. (2016). Police personnel affective profiles: Differences in perceptions of the work climate and motivation. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychiatry 31, 2-14.
  3. Bagby R. M., Parker J. D. A. & Taylor G. J. (1994a). The twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale I. Item selection and crossvalidation of the factor structure. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 38, 23-32. DOI: 10.1016/0022-3999(94)90005-1
  4. Bagby R. M., Parker J. D. A. & Taylor G. J. (1994b). The twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia scale II. Convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 38, 33-40 DOI: 10.1016/0022-3999(94)90005-
  5. Bagby R. M., Taylor G. J., Parker J. D. A. & Dickens S. E. (2006). The development of the Toronto Structured Interview for Alexithymia: Item selection, factor structure, reliability and concurrent validity. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, 75, 25-39. DOI: 10.1159/00008922
  6. Battistelli A., Galletta M., Odoardi C., Núñez J. & Ntalianis F. (2017). Proposal for a version of MWMS across Mediterranean countries: A validation study in Greece, Italy, and Spain. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 33, 104-115.
  7. Bressi C., Taylor G. J., Parker J. D. A., Bressi G., Brambilla V., Aguglia E., … Invernizzi G. (1996). Cross ‒ validation of the factor structure of the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale: An Italian multicenter study. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 41, 551-559. DOI: 10.1016/S0022-3999(96)00228-
  8. Borgogni L., Petitta L. & Barbaranelli C. (2004). T.O.M.: Test di Orientamento Motivazionale [T.O.M.: Motivational Orientation Test]. Florence, Italy: Giunti Organizzazioni Speciali.
  9. Caretti V., Porcelli P., Solano L., Schimmenti A., Taylor G. J. & Bagby R. M. (2011). Reliability and validity of the Toronto Structured Interview for Alexithymia in a mixed clinical and nonclinical sample from Italy. Psychiatry Research, 187, 432-436.
  10. Dale C. & Gilroy C. (1984). Determinants of enlistments: A macroeconomic time series view. Armed Forces & Society, 10, 192-210. DOI: 10.1177/0095327X840100020
  11. Davis P. A., Woodman T. & Callow N. (2010). Better out than in: The influence of anger regulation on physical performance. Personality and Individual Differences, 49, 457-460.
  12. Deci E. L. & Ryan R. M. (1985a). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behaviour. New York, NY: Plenum.
  13. Deci E. L. & Ryan R. M. (1985b). The general causality orientations scale: Self-determination in personality. Journal of Research in Personality, 19, 109134. DOI: 10.1016/0092-6566(85)90023-
  14. Deci E. L. & Ryan R. M. (2000). The ‘what’ and why’ of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behaviour. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 227-268. DOI: 10.1207/S15327965PLI1104_01
  15. Deci E. L. & Ryan R. M. (2008). Self-determination theory: A macrotheory of human motivation, development, and health. Canadian Psychology, 49, 182-185.
  16. Deci E. L. & Ryan R. M. (2014). Autonomy and need satisfaction in close relationships: Relationships motivation theory. In Weinstein N., ed., Human motivation and interpersonal relationships (pp. 53-73). New York, NY: Springer.
  17. De Rijk A., Janssen N., Van Lierop B., Alexanderson K. & Nijhuis F. (2009). A behavioural approach to RTW after sickness absence: The development of instruments for the assessment of motivational determinants, motivation and key actors’ attitudes. Work, 33, 273-285. DOI: 10.3233/WOR-2009-087
  18. Drevs F. & Müller M. (2015). Public service motivation as driver of social support to apply for safety-critical organisations? An empirical study in the context of German military service. Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, 27, 135-154. DOI: 10.1080/10495142.2014.98556
  19. Ferraro T., Pais L., Moreira J. M. & Dos Santos R. N. (2017). Decent work and work motivation in knowledge workers: The mediating role of psychological capital. Applied Research Quality Life.
  20. Ferres Saint-Aubin K. (2009). Impact of positive emotions enhancement on physiological processes and psychological functioning in military pilots. -- Retrieved from https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/0d4b/5eddb359e150e818fce14d39d864f2930402.pdf
  21. Fiore S. M., Hoffman R. R. & Salas E. (2008). Learning and performance across disciplines: An epilogue for moving multidisciplinary research toward an interdisciplinary science of expertise. Military Psychology, 20, S155–S170. DOI: 10.1080/0899560070180493
  22. Galletta M., Portoghese I., Pili S., Piazza M. F. & Campagna M. (2016). The effect of work motivation on a sample of nurses in an Italian healthcare setting. Work, 54, 451-460. DOI: 10.3233/WOR-16232
  23. Gagné M. & Deci E. L. (2005). Self-determination theory and work motivation. Journal of Organisational Behaviour, 26, 331-362.
  24. Gagné M., Forest J., Vansteenkiste M., Crevier-Braud L., Van den Broeck A., Aspeli A., … Westbye C. (2015). The multidimensional work motivation scale: Validation evidence in seven languages and nine countries. European Journal of Work and Organisational Psychology, 24, 178-196. DOI: 10.1080/1359432X.2013.87789
  25. Gagné M. & Vansteenkiste M. (2013). Self-determination theory’s contribution to positive organisational psychology. In Bakker A. B., ed., Advances in positive organisational psychology (vol. 1, pp. 61-62). Bingley: Emerald.
  26. Janelle C. M. & Hatfield B. D. (2008). Visual attention and brain processes that underlie expert performance: Implications for sport and military psychology. Military Psychology, 20, 39-69. DOI: 10.1080/0899560070180479
  27. Kaplan Z., Weiser M., Reichenberg A., Rabinowitz J., Caspi A., Bodner E. & Zohar J. (2002). Motivation to serve in the military influences’ vulnerability to future posttraumatic stress disorder. Psychiatry Research, 109, 45-49. DOI: 10.1016/S0165-1781(01)00365-
  28. Kanfer R., Frese M., Johnson R. E. (2017). Motivation Related to Work: A Century of Progress. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102, 338-355
  29. Lane A. M., Bucknall G., Davis P. A. & Beedie C. J. (2012). Emotions and emotion regulation among novice military parachutists. Military Psychology, 24, 327-341. DOI: 10.1080/08995605.2012.67824
  30. Lopes, S. & Chambel, M. J. (2017). Temporary agency workers’ motivations and well-being at work: A two-wave study. International Journal of Stress Management, 24, 321-346.
  31. Nemiah J. C., Freyberger H. & Sifneos P. E. (1976). Alexithymia: A view of the psychosomatic process. In Hill O., ed., Modern trends in psychosomatic medicine (vol. 3, pp. 430–439). London, UK: Butterworths.
  32. Norlander T., von Schedvin H. & Archer T. (2005). Thriving as a function of affective personality: Relation to personality factors, coping strategies, and stress. Anxiety, Stress, and Coping, 18, 105-116. DOI: 10.1080/1061580050009377
  33. Olafsen A. H., Deci E. L. & Halvari H. (2018). Basic psychological needs and work motivation: A longitudinal test of directionality. Motivation and Emotion, 42, 178-189.
  34. Ryan R. M. & Deci E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of autonomous motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55, 68-78.
  35. Ryan R. M. & Deci E. L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Autonomy and basic psychological needs in human motivation, social development, and wellness. New York, NY: Guilford.
  36. Schreurs B. H. & Syed F. (2011). Battling the war for talent: An application in a military context. Career Development International, 16, 36-59. DOI: 10.1108/1362043111110780
  37. Taylor G. J. (2000). Recent developments in alexithymia theory and research. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 45, 134-142. DOI: 10.1177/07067437000450020
  38. Taylor G. J. & Bagby R. M. (2014). Advance in theory and research on alexithymia. In Taylor G. J., Bagby R. M., Caretti V. & Schimmenti A., eds., The assessment of the alexithymia construct with the TSIA (pp. 77–97). Milano: Raffaello Cortina.
  39. Taylor G. J., Bagby R. M. & Parker J. D. A. (1997). Disorders of affect regulation: Alexithymia in medical and psychiatric illness. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
  40. Taylor G. J. & Bagby R. M. (2004). New trends in alexithymia research. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic, 73, 68-77. DOI: 10.1159/00007553
  41. Tenenbaum G., Edmonds W. A. & Eccles D. W. (2008). Emotions, coping strategies, and performance: A conceptual framework for defining affect-related performance zones. Military Psychology, 20, 11-37. DOI: 10.1080/0899560070180477
  42. Totterdell P. & Leach D. (2001). Negative mood regulation expectancies and sports performance: An investigation involving professional cricketers. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 2, 249-265. DOI: 10.1016/S1469-0292(01)00016-
  43. Trépanier S. G., Peterson C., Gagné M., Fernet C., Levesque-Côté J. & Howard J. L. (2022). Revisiting the Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale (MWMS). European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 1-16. DOI: 10.1080/1359432X.2022.211631
  44. Vandercammen L., Hofmans J. & Theuns P. (2014). Relating specific emotions to intrinsic motivation: On the moderating role of positive and negative emotion differentiation. PLoS One, 9, e115396.
  45. Vandercammen L., Hofmans J., Theuns P. & Kuppens P. (2014b). On the role of specific emotions in autonomous and controlled motivated behaviour. European Journal of Personality, 28, 437-448.
  46. Van den Broeck A., Howard J. L., Van Vaerenbergh Y., Leroy H. & Gagné M. (2021). Beyond intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: A meta-analysis on self-determination theory’s multidimensional conceptualization of work motivation. Organizational Psychology Review, 11(3), 240-273. DOI: 10.1177/2041386621100617
  47. Van Scheppingen A. R., de Vroome E. M. M., ten Have K. C. J. M., Zwetsloot G. I. J. M., Wiezer N. & van Mechelen W. (2015). Vitality at work and its associations with lifestyle, self-determination, organisational culture, and with employees’ performance and sustainable employability. Work, 52, 45–55. DOI: 10.3233/WOR-14194
  48. West M. J., Copland D. A., Arnott W. L., Nelson N. L. & Angwin A. J. (2017). Effects of emotional prosody on novel word learning in relation to autism-like traits. Motivation and Emotion, 41, 749-759.
  49. Wallenius C., Larsson G. & Johansson C. R. (2004). Military observers’ reactions and performance when facing danger. Military Psychology, 16, 211-229.

Alessia Renzi, Cinzia Di Monte, Luigi Cinque, Alessandra Coscarelli, Manuela Tomai, Debora Camicia, Work motivation and affect regulation capabilities in a group of italian military finance students in "PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE" 2/2023, pp 67-83, DOI: 10.3280/PDS2023-002005