Key Takeaways
- High Freedom of Movement reflects confidence in tackling new challenges and positively influences performance.
- In Julian Rotter’s Social Learning Theory (SLT), High Freedom of Movement represents a high generalized expectancy for success.
- Freedom of Movement varies by situation, shaping how competent or capable we feel in different contexts.
- Building higher Freedom of Movement requires developing skills relevant to your goals and maintaining a realistic self-assessment.
- An Internal Locus of Control supports Freedom of Movement, fostering greater happiness, motivation, and success.
Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
What High Freedom of Movement Means
Freedom of Movement describes how confident we feel about succeeding in new situations. This post explores what High Freedom of Movement means through the lens of Julian Rotter’s Social Learning Theory and how this confidence influences performance across life’s challenges.
Understanding High Freedom Of Movement
We’ve all encountered individuals with High Freedom of Movement. These are the people who exude confidence in their ability to excel in almost any situation. They’re the ‘natural athletes’ who excel in sports and perform well academically.
High Freedom Of Movement And Social Learning Theory (SLT)
From Julian Rotter’s Social Learning Theory (SLT) perspective, High Freedom of Movement reflects a high generalized expectancy for success. Rotter described it as an overall expectation that one’s actions will lead to positive satisfaction across many behaviors and situations. In simple terms, it is like seeing a “happy face across the board” when using avatar-style feedback.
The Limits Of High Freedom Of Movement
Before we get too lost in idealizations, High Freedom of Movement is not an all-encompassing attitude because no one is good at everything. There are limits to high general levels of performance expertise. Being good at basketball doesn’t imply winning outcomes at the poker table.
Freedom of Movement is a “general expectancy” that is not always applicable in situations where the skills and talents of High FM don’t apply. Leonardo de Vinci must have had limitations, regardless of his artistic, scientific, and visionary capabilities. He was a true genius, as was Einstein, who said, “The hardest thing in the world to understand is income taxes.”
So, let’s maintain a realistic perspective. High Freedom of Movement is a desirable personal quality and something we can all admire in ourselves and the behaviors of others. If someone asked you, out of the blue, “Can you do this?” what would you say? Without first knowing the challenge, many people respond, “Not sure—what do you mean?” or “Probably not!” That’s Low Freedom of Movement. On the other hand, when asked, “Can you take charge of our meeting this afternoon?” you might say, “Yes, if it is a meeting you have sufficient grasp of and can predict likely questions and useful answers.
Recognizing Your Freedom Of Movement
You can have High FM in some situations and Low FM in others. This is almost always the case for most of us. The trick is to know which challenges we are prepared for and which we are not.
Individuals with High FM experience less frustration, but they still need to understand the challenge itself and assess their readiness for it. This awareness helps them experience positive satisfaction across many situations.
The Importance Of Freedom Of Movement In SLT
Freedom of Movement is a crucial SLT construct because it systematically addresses an important side of ourselves within the context of a scientific theory. Without SLT clarification, we use ordinary language explanations like “I’m not very self-confident” and “I’m not so good at many things.” These despondent self-references are expressions of self-doubt resulting from our inability to know our capabilities and limitations and which are helpful in what situations.
Feeling you are capable regarding some things is far superior to feeling incapable of much of anything. When you are “clear” in understanding how and where you perform best, you have a foundation guiding you toward successful performances with enhanced certainty. You are more likely to assess your capabilities and skills correctly versus a general conclusion you are incompetent and unprepared.
Pick Your Battles Wisely
Learn the skills required for success in particular situations relevant to your short—and long-term goals. This requires some preparation and is not a strategy you can easily implement on a Saturday afternoon while looking for jobs popping up on the internet.
The Good News: Building Freedom Of Movement
You can develop higher levels of Freedom of Movement by acquiring the skills needed for success in the environments you feel are right for you. Employers have training programs and are often eager to bring you along when your desire to achieve your goals is apparent and relevant to the challenges they present. Seek success in environments you are motivated (passionate about), and you will always do better.
We always do our best in what we are passionate about and work in environments that promote fulfillment and success.
Goal-Directed Behavior And Positive Outcomes
Let’s make the above point again. From the perspective of SLT, your goal-directed behaviors are more likely to be rewarded when your goals are: a) well-defined; b) specific behaviors needed to achieve positive outcomes are well-defined; c) you have high expectations these same behaviors will achieve positive outcomes, especially in d) psychological situations where your performance skills are relevant to existing challenges.
Real-World Examples Of Low Freedom Of Movement
Consider the following as a relatively common experience: Do you ever take your car to the service department, try to speak auto language, pretend to know what you are doing and then conclude you have a good idea what is wrong with your car and what needs to be done to fix it? Typically, we nod. Our heads were in dumbfounded agreement, saying something like, “Sounds good to me,” we headed out feeling dumb as a rock.
We have little Freedom of Movement in these situations because we are not knowledgeable. We feel we can’t do it ourselves and lay red carpets for those expressing confidence they can resolve the issues. (Just leave it to us, pay your bill, and we’ll all be happy.) This is an excellent example of External Locus of Control, where rewarding outcomes are expected to result from good luck and the actions of powerful others.
Honest Self-Assessment
We live in a complicated world; most are just a bit dim regarding one or more of these ever-present, disturbing encounters. This is not going to change. What can change is to be honest with ourselves without self-deprecation, knowing we are good at some things and not so good at others. It is not a personality defect or self-worth issue. Illustrating the point, when an auto mechanic comes to you (if you were an accountant) for help with his taxes, he will feel the same as you did in his environment and behave equally submissively.
Life is understandable for the most part, and mental health is no different. Since the Mental Health profession is not well-grounded in positive and reliable outcome evidence, it may be wise for you to maintain a measure of self-command and seek caregivers who do acknowledge they are not always well-guided by solid scientific theory nor confident supportive data buttress their actions and question whether their theoretical approach is built on a solid foundation.
Mental Health And Freedom Of Movement
Most people can self-manage their therapy when provided useful information derived from evidence-based theoretical models about how and why they can successfully proceed in a particular direction. Social Learning Theory offers such a model. It comes without the attractive language of the more popular therapies, which tend to come and go, some as quickly as a colorful season of success, only to be referred to later on as “what some of us used to think.”
SLT is a genuine scientific theory, with constructs that sound more mathematical than emotional.
It takes time and effort to understand. Once you do, you’ll experience greater Freedom of Movement and confidence in where your skills apply most effectively.
Internal Locus Of Control And Freedom Of Movement
Internal Locus of Control, like Freedom of Movement, has been highly researched. Results indicate that Internals who believe valued rewards come their way as a result of skills they have acquired (and use these skills in those situations where they are relevant) live happier, more successful and productive lives at work, in school, at home, and everywhere.
Strive For Balance
The goal is to steadily increase your ability to help others while taking better care of yourself. By developing your Freedom of Movement and fostering an Internal Locus of Control, you can build a more fulfilling and successful life.
FAQ
High Freedom of Movement is the confidence that your actions will lead to positive results across different situations. It reflects a high expectancy for success, a core concept in Julian Rotter’s Social Learning Theory.
You can build Freedom of Movement by developing specific skills relevant to your goals, preparing for challenges, and practicing honest self-assessment. Over time, this strengthens both confidence and competence.
An Internal Locus of Control supports Freedom of Movement by reinforcing the belief that success depends on your own efforts and decisions rather than external factors.