yuhas

So You Want to Be a Genius

When it comes to cultivating genius, talent matters, but motivation may matter more By Daisy Yuhas

ot motivation? Without it, the long, difficult hours of

p ractice that elevate some people above the rest are
excruciating. But where does such stamina come from,
and can we have some, too? Psychologists have identified three
critical elements that support motivation, all of which you can
tweak to your benefit.

Autonomy
Whether you pursue an activity for its own sake or because
external forces compel you, psychologists Edward L. Deci and
Richard M. Ryan of the University of Rochester argue that you
gain motivation when you feel in charge. In evaluations of students, athletes and employees, the researchers have found that
the perception of autonomy predicts the energy with which individuals pursue a goal.
In 2006 Deci and Ryan, with psychologist Arlen C. Moller,
designed several experiments to evaluate the effects of feeling
controlled versus self-directed. They found that subjects given
the opportunity to select a course of action based on their own
opinions (for example, giving a speech for or against teaching
psychology in high school) persisted longer in a subsequent
puzzle-solving activity than participants who were either given
no choice or pressured to select one side over another. Deci and
Ryan posit that acting under duress is taxing, whereas pursuing
a task you endorse is energizing.

Competence

chologists at the Democritus University of Thrace and the University of Thessaly in Greece surveyed 882 students on their
a ttitudes and engagement with athletics during a two-year
period. They found a strong link between a students sense of
prowess and his or her desire to pursue sports. The connection
worked in both directions practice made students more likely
to consider themselves competent, and a sense of competence
strongly predicted that they would engage in athletic activity.
Similar studies in music and academics bolster these findings.
Carol S. Dweck, a psychologist at Stanford University, has
shown that competence comes from recognizing the basis of accomplishment. In numerous studies, she has found that those
who credit innate talents rather than hard work give up more
easily when facing a novel challenge because they assume it
exceeds their ability. Believing that effort fosters excellence can
inspire you to keep learning.
The next time you struggle to lace up your sneakers or park
yourself at the piano bench, ask yourself what is missing. Often
the answer lies in one of these three areas feeling forced, finding an activity pointless or doubting your capabilities. Tackling
such sources of resistance can strengthen your resolve. The
choice, of course, is yours.

As you devote more time to an activity, you notice your skills

improve, and you gain a sense of competence. In 2006 psy

Daisy Yuhas is a science writer based in New York City.

Value

K r i s t e n G e r ac i G e t t y I m a g e s

Practice makes perfect, but finding the personal wherewithal to

start can be daunting. Proved techniques can help build motivation.

Motivation also blossoms when you stay true to your beliefs

and values. Assigning value to an activity can restore ones sense
of autonomy, a finding of great interest to educators. In a 2010
review article, University of Maryland psychologists Allan Wigfield
and Jenna Cambria noted that several studies have found a positive correlation between valuing a subject in school and a students willingness to investigate a question independently.
The good news is that value can be modified. In 2009 University of Virginia psychologist Christopher S. Hulleman described a semester-long intervention in which one group of high
school students wrote about how science related to their lives
and another group simply summarized what they had learned in
science class. The most striking results came from students
with low expectations of their performance. Those who described the importance of science in their lives improved their
grades more and reported greater interest than similar students
in the summary-writing group. In short, reflecting on why an activity is meaningful could make you more invested in it.

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