Motivational Theories of animal shelters

Self-determination theory takes individual differences into account, and differentiates between autonomous motivation and controlled motivation (Oostlander, Guntert, van Schie, & Wehner, 2013). Autonomous motivation comes from personal choice and is therefore a form of intrinsic motivation. Factors like "interest" and "fun" factor in to autonomous motivation (Oostlander, Guntert, van Schie & Wehner, 2013, p. 3). Research shows that intrinsic, autonomous motivation for volunteerism leads to greater volunteer work satisfaction and greater work effort, too (Oostlander, Guntert, van Schie & Wehner, 2013). Autonomously motivated persons find value in the volunteer work and find the work interesting or enjoyable (Oostlander, Guntert, van Schie & Wehner, 2013). Controlled motivation, on the other hand, entails extrinsic motivation such as pressure to engage in a volunteer activity, or guilt avoidance (Oostlander, Guntert, van Schie & Wehner, 2013). Research suggests that young people may be more apt to volunteer based on controlled motivation versus autonomous motivation (Markovitz & Queen, 2009). Volunteers in animal shelters tend to be motivated by "a need to act on important values relating to animals," suggesting intrinsic and autonomous factors, but that may also be due to the majority of shelter volunteers being female (Markovitz & Queen, 2009, p. 11). Moreover, Stroup, Dodson, Elias & Gewirtzman (2015) show that positive affect due to volunteerism is cumulative, in that a good experience with volunteering is more likely to lead to the motivation to volunteer again. Therefore, recruiting new volunteers becomes challenging.

Historically, women have been involved in animal rights activism. In the 19th century, for example, antivivisection societies were almost exclusively female (Markovitz & Queen, 2009). The typical animal shelter volunteer is not only female but also white, heterosexual, employed, pet owning, and between the ages of 40 and 59 (Markovitz & Queen, 2009). The reason for women's historical engagement with volunteer activities is likely due to women's exclusion from the paid labor market until around the time of Second World War. Therefore, women have theoretically been autonomously motivated to volunteer. Individual differences aside, women might have been motivated by a desire to make their lives meaningful, to fill their time, or to devote their time to promoting welfare. Taniguchi (2006) found that even when women work part time or full time, they are more likely than men to volunteer or provide unpaid work in the form of caring for elders. Women's unpaid labor in the domestic sphere can also be framed as a version of volunteerism, and one signaling intrinsic and autonomous motivators.

Gender differences in the motivation to volunteer for animal shelters can therefore be explained partly by the differences in attitude towards volunteer work between men and women. Whereas women will volunteer regardless of their job status, men are actually less likely to volunteer when they are unemployed versus when they are employed part time (Taniguchi, 2006). If animal shelters wish to attract more male volunteers, it will be helpful to understand what intrinsic factors motivate men to volunteer. Autonomous motivation and self-determination theory suggest that making the work engaging, interesting, fun, and personally rewarding will stimulate motivation among both genders, thereby promoting interest in volunteering at animal shelters.

For men, volunteer work may be considered more of a "leisure activity," versus work (Taniguchi, 2006). This may be due to the pressures to conform to masculine roles as bread winners and active participants in the labor market, whereas it is more socially acceptable for women to work outside of the labor market such as by volunteering. Yet if men construe volunteer work as leisure activity, then it would not make sense that free time does not stimulate interest in volunteering among men, as Taniguchi (2006) found. Therefore, motivational theories can account at least in part for the gender gap in volunteering. Whereas women are autonomously motivated to volunteer, men may require extrinsic pushes and controlled motivation to volunteer, based on self-determination theory.

H1: Women are more likely than men to fill their free time with volunteer work.

H2: Women are more emotionally affected by their volunteer role than men, which in turn causes women to devote more of their time to future volunteer work.

H3: Extrinsic and controlled motivation factors will be more effective at recruiting, but not necessarily retaining, men in volunteer positions versus intrinsic factors.

A list of all unemployed persons, registered with local unemployment offices, will be acquired from ten small urban communities. All persons on the list will be requested to participate in the research, which will be initially presented as "research about unemployment in America." Although this sampling method relies on self-selection, it nevertheless represents a large cross-section of the nation.

The researchers will tabulate the numbers of male versus female volunteers at the non-profit animal shelters in the ten small urban communities.

The participants will be randomly assigned to one of two experimental groups. Both groups will be shown a one-minute video advertisement once per week, at their unemployment office.

Group A will be shown a one-minute video of happy people of all genders, races, and ages helping out at animal shelters. Keywords and phrases in the voiceover will include "sense of purpose," "helping animals," "a vision for a better world," "helping each other build a better world," and "doing good for your community." Images of puppies and kittens will also be shown.

Group B. will be shown a one-minute video depicting a series of skits involving only men in different workplace environments. In one scene, an interviewer asks a male job applicant if he had performed any volunteer work lately. When the applicant shakes his head, "No," the interviewer shakes his head with disdain as he writes "No," on his sheet of paper. In another scene, a supervisor asks an employee if he volunteered at the animal shelter this week. When the employee says no, his male colleagues around him look shocked, and shake their heads at him. The man has a shamed look on his face. The advertisement concludes with, "Be a man. Volunteer at your local animal shelter."

After six weeks of viewing the advertisement each week, the number of male versus female volunteers will again be tabulated at the same local animal shelters as at the onset of the study. The comparison in numbers of male and female volunteers before and after the video intervention will form the crux of the data set. However, a follow-up survey will also be used primarily to measure Hypothesis 2, and also to assess general motivations for volunteering. The survey will include questions such as, "What made you decide to volunteer?" "How did it make you feel?" "Will you do it again?" If your employer gave you credit/bonus for volunteering, would you volunteer more often?" "If more of your friends spent their spare time on the weekends and after work volunteering, would you?" and "If your children admired you for volunteering, would you volunteer more?"

The participants will also be given the Motivation at Work Scale (MAWS), which uses a Likert scale. Ideally, the study will be repeated at different times of the year to account for fluctuations in school holidays, Christmas, and other extraneous variables.

The statistical tests used to compare the numbers of volunteers at local shelters before and after the intervention include a Chi-square and a t-test. The survey results will be analyzed separately as qualitative data, but the answers to the questions will be clustered using the software. Patterns of responses will be grouped according to participant gender. The MAWS results can be quantified as well. These two different survey methods will provide a broad means of testing the research hypothesis. Simple descriptive statistics will demonstrate the correlations between gender and different motivational factors and allow the researchers to ascertain the null hypotheses in each condition.

If the numbers of male volunteers increases in both Group A and Group B. conditions, then the null hypotheses will be proven. If, however, there is an increase in number of male volunteers from the Group B. cohort, then H2 and H3 would be proven. If there was no difference at all in male versus female presence at the animal shelter at any point, then the null hypothesis for H1 would be proven.

References

Davis, R. (2013). Understanding volunteerism in an animal shelter environment. College of Professional Studies Professional Projects, Paper 54.

Markovitz, A.S. & Queen, R. (2009). Women and the world of dog rescue. Society and Animals 17(2009): 325-342.

Oostlander, J., Guntert, S.T., van Schie, S. & Wehner, T. (2013). Leadership and volunteer motivation. Nonprofit and Volunteer Sector Quarterly 20(10): 1-21.

Stroup, J.T., Dodson, K., Elias, K. & Gewirtzman, A. (2015). A passion for service?

Taniguchi, H. (2006). Men's and women's volunteering. Nonprofit and Volunteer Sector Quarterly 35(1): 83-101.

Widjaja, E. (2010). Motivation behind volunteerism. Retrieved online: http://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1015&context=cmc_theses