Supervisors' Interactional Styles and Subordinates' Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

Abstract The effects of supervisory style on subordinates' intrinsic and extrinsic motivation were examined in two studies. In Study I, Canadian graduate students reacted to hypothetical situations that involved three supervisory styles–autonomy supportive, non-punitive controlling, and punitive controlling. The results indicated that participants experienced the highest and lowest levels of intrinsic motivation in the autonomy-supportive and punitive-controlling conditions, respectively. A control group was incorporated in Study 2. Potential moderating effects of a high versus a low self-determined motivational profile (SDMP) on the relationship between supervisory style and intrinsic motivation were explored. Results indicated that the autonomy-supportive and punitive-controlling supervisory styles maintained and decreased participants' intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, respectively, compared with that of the control group. Also, in the autonomy-supportive condition, high-SDMP participants perceived the supervisor as more autonomy supportive and, consequently, felt more self-determined than low-SDMP participants, whereas in the controlling condition, high-SDMP participants perceived the supervisor as more controlling and felt less self-determined than low-SDMP participants.