An organizational model of choice: a theoretical analysis differentiating choice, personal control, and...

Individuals experience choice when they select one option from among meaningful alternatives that possess relatively equal attractiveness and some degree of indeterminacy. Choice has been found to influence important psychological and behavioral outcomes. After differentiating among choice, personal control, and self-determination, the author offers a model of choice, with self-determination as the key mechanism regulating how choice influences intrinsic motivation. The model suggests specific types of choice-relevant information that should affect whether choice results in an internal (self-determined) or external (controlled) locus of causality. The individual characteristics of locus of control, self-presentation, self-esteem, and Type A personality are suggested as possible moderators of the effects of choice. Finally, the implications of the choice model for organizations and further areas of research are discussed.