The Integrative Process

Abstract

In everyday life, people are asked to make decisions, express attitudes, and endorse beliefs, all of which can be either internally consistent or at odds with one another. People are also challenged when presented with new experiences, facts, or events that do not fit with their existing self-concepts or worldviews. In short, individuals are ever faced with the problem of how to coordinate and increase the congruence between their behaviors and cognitions, and of how to integrate new experiences within their existing web of self-knowledge. In this article, we review recent research concerning the integrative processes involved in unified self-functioning. We suggest that integrative processing of experience is conducive to wellness and effective functioning, and we contrast integrative processing with defensive and compartmentalized processing, which has many costs. More specifically, we review recent research highlighting the critical and synergistic roles of awareness, ownership, and nondefensiveness in the process of integration. AbstractRecent research has provided new insights into the integrative process, which allows for unified self-functioning. In this article, we review recent work that has used a variety of behavioral, physiological, dual-process, and survey techniques to examine personality integration. On the basis of theoretical considerations and the growing body of findings, we highlight three subprocesses-namely, awareness, ownership/autonomy, and nondefensiveness-and summarize evidence linking these facets of integration to energy, wellness, and relational benefits. Finally, we review contextual factors, such as autonomy support and unconditional regard, that have been shown to be conducive to integration, and we suggest tools that may be used in future research on integration.

Adolescents’ autonomous functioning and implicit theories of ability as predictors of their school achievement and week-to-week study regulation and well-being

“…When they perceive studying as a should-be task, they are presumed to be under some internal or external pressure, and thus to be controlled motivated. In contrast, when they consider studying as an enjoyable or valuable activity, they are said to function in an autonomous way; that is, to be more authentic, and thus to have better access to their motives, emotions, and the true meanings underpinning their actions (Weinstein et al, 2013). In our research we focused on awareness of self -the self-knowledge that is accessible and available upon request by one's self -as one of the key elements that characterizes the reflective and thoughtful endorsement of one's action and eventually one's autonomous functioning (Ryan, Huta, & Deci, 2008).…”

“…First, we relied on SDT (Deci & Ryan, 2000) and prior empirical evidence (e.g., Bartholomew et al, 2011;Patrick, Knee, Canevello, & Lonsbary, 2007; and expected the week-to-week autonomous functioning to relate positively to the respective week-toweek study efforts and subjective vitality and negatively to the respective week-to-week, homework procrastination and depressive feelings (Hypothesis 1). Our hypothesis was based on the assumption that a student who has better access to his or her motives and emotions is more likely to experience higher wellbeing (Weinstein et al, 2013) and exert inhibitory control when needed (Oberle et al, 2012) and thus put more effort into studying and procrastinate less.…”

“…Other things being equal, we propose that students' intrapersonal fluctuation of study regulation and well-being corresponds to a respective fluctuation of autonomous functioning (as reflected by students' awareness of self, which we consider an important element of people's disposition for autonomous functioning -see Weinstein, Przybylski, & Ryan, 2013). Specifically, we aimed to investigate to what extent the week-to-week fluctuation of students' autonomous functioning co-varies with two markers of study regulation (i.e., study efforts and homework procrastination) and two markers of well-being (i.e., subjective vitality and depressive feelings).…”

Basic psychological needs and neurophysiological responsiveness to decisional conflict: an event-related potential study of integrative self processes

“…Despite the discomfort that major life decisions sometimes entail, conflicts can also offer people a perspective from which to clarify their core values, focus their life goals, and thereby make choices that are more congruent with their sense of self (Carver & Scheier, 1998;McAdams, 2013;W. R. Miller & Rollnick, 2002;Weinstein, Przybylski, & Ryan, 2013). Decisional conflicts, then, hold the potential to provide Bgrist for the mill^of selfcoherence and development, but what conditions facilitate people's engagement with and processing of conflict-laden experiences in the first place?…”

Self-determination, Self-efficacy and Self-regulation in School: A Longitudinal Intervention Study With Primary School Pupils

“…A positive result of the study was that identified regulation remained stable across the first years in primary school. Integrated types of motivation, like identified regulation, are only possible, if students have access to their motives, emotions, and meanings underpinning these actions, and therefore integrated regulation requires awareness, autonomy, and non-defensive processing (Weinstein, Przybylski, and Ryan 2013). Supporting pupils in this respect was one of the main aims of the intervention .…”