scholarly journals Examining the Basic Psychological Needs of Library and Information Science Doctoral Students

10.28945/4135 ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 389-411
Author(s):  
Africa Hands

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine how the basic psychological needs of self-determination theory are reflected in doctoral students’ motivation to earn the PhD. Background: As isolating as the doctoral experience seems, it is one that occurs in a social-cultural environment that can either support or hinder the student. This research highlights the motivational influences of library and information science doctoral students regarding experiences of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Methodology: Qualitative data were collected from seven (7) enrolled doctoral students at library and information science programs in the United States and Canada. Transcripts from semi-structured interviews and students’ personal admission statements were subjected to deductive content analysis for emphasis on three basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Contribution: Findings illustrate the role faculty play in student motivation and satisfaction with the doctoral experience. There are implications for faculty, mentors, and advisors working with current and former graduate students who may be considering a PhD. The findings have implications for doctoral recruitment, advising, and student services of interest to faculty and administrators across disciplines. It also shows the applicability of self-determination theory in the examination of the doctoral student experience and overall motivation. Findings: Deductive analysis based on self-determination theory (SDT) demonstrates factors related to self-determination theory’s basic psychological needs – autonomy, competence, and relatedness – as relevant to participants’ motivation to pursue a doctoral degree and to the examination of doctoral student initial motivation. Doctoral students are motivated by multiple factors including their interactions with and encouragement received from current and former faculty. Students report experiences related to autonomy, competence, and relatedness that energized them to pursue a doctoral degree and that have positively influenced their doctoral experience thus far. Recommendations for Practitioners: Faculty and program administrators may use this data to inform their understanding of the expectations of today’s doctoral students and motivational drivers of prospective students and to tailor support services accordingly. Recommendation for Researchers: This is a preliminary investigation of doctoral student motivation in relation to the basic psychological needs. More research is needed on a larger sample of students to more fully understand the influence of autonomy, competence, and relatedness on doctoral student initial and ongoing motivation. Impact on Society: This research is an important step in bridging faculty and student perceptions of what is important to their initial and ongoing enrollment in a doctoral program. By improving students’ experiences of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, it may be possible to improve the overall doctoral experience leading to completion of the PhD. Future Research: Future research will expand to include doctoral students farther along in their doctoral programs, the administration of the Basic Psychological Needs Scale, and may examine faculty perceptions of the three basic psychological needs.

2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 63-70
Author(s):  
Petr Květon ◽  
Martin Jelínek

Abstract. This study tests two competing hypotheses, one based on the general aggression model (GAM), the other on the self-determination theory (SDT). GAM suggests that the crucial factor in video games leading to increased aggressiveness is their violent content; SDT contends that gaming is associated with aggression because of the frustration of basic psychological needs. We used a 2×2 between-subject experimental design with a sample of 128 undergraduates. We assigned each participant randomly to one experimental condition defined by a particular video game, using four mobile video games differing in the degree of violence and in the level of their frustration-invoking gameplay. Aggressiveness was measured using the implicit association test (IAT), administered before and after the playing of a video game. We found no evidence of an association between implicit aggressiveness and violent content or frustrating gameplay.


Author(s):  
Roberto Ferriz ◽  
Alejandro Jiménez-Loaisa ◽  
David González-Cutre ◽  
María Romero-Elías ◽  
Vicente J. Beltrán-Carrillo

Purpose: Adolescents’ and parents’ experiences within a multidimensional school-based physical activity intervention grounded on self-determination theory were explored. Method: Qualitative data from 29 adolescents (aged 15–17 years) and three parents on behalf of the total students’ families were collected via participant observation (research diary), semistructured interviews, and focus groups. Results: Adolescents perceived that the application of motivational strategies, based on self-determination theory, satisfied their basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness, favored self-determined motivation, and gave rise to adaptive consequences (improved physical activity knowledge, creation of affective bonds, and increased leisure-time physical activity). These results were supported by the information reported by the students’ parents. Discussion/Conclusions: The findings support the implementation of self-determination theory-based multidimensional interventions to promote adolescents’ physical activity participation. This study also presents several motivational strategies which could be useful for the design and implementation of future school-based physical activity interventions.


2022 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 88-97
Author(s):  
Rita Estrada

Dementia is an ever-increasing health and social problem, with a growing number of people being affected worldwide. As dementia progresses, dependency on others increases, requiring the presence of caregivers. Caregivers tend to focus on the diagnosis itself – dementia – which makes it difficult to see the person in their uniqueness. The person is there, and can be seen by listening, which requires time and communication skills. The voices of older adults living with several types of dementia, collected while working as a psychologist in a nursing home, are presented in the first person to bring forward the person they are. These excerpts of interactions illustrate the basic psychological need of relatedness, which is built through interaction, stories, and touch, and the needs of competence and autonomy. The framework of this paper encompasses validation therapy, person-centered care, and self-determination theory. Two conclusions emerge: Seeing the person through the dementia enables an adequate psychological assessment and a helpful supportive psychotherapy, and it also makes us acknowledge and help satisfy the three basic psychological needs of relatedness, competence, and autonomy.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Quang Ngoc Nguyen ◽  
Thuy-Tien Thi La ◽  
Mai Thi Phan ◽  
Thuy-Dung Ninh

Nghiên cứu được tiến hành dựa trên lý thuyết tự quyết nhằm tìm hiểu về mối liên hệ giữa sự thỏa mãn các nhu cầu tâm lý cơ bản, động lực học tập, và trì hoãn trong học tập ở sinh viên. Mẫu nghiên cứu là mẫu thuận tiện với 341 sinh viên có độ tuổi trong khoảng từ 19 đến 26. Trong đó, nam chiếm 11.7% và nữ chiếm 88.3%. Mức độ thỏa mãn các nhu cầu tâm lý cơ bản, các loại động lực học tập, và mức độ trì hoãn trong học tập được đo lường bởi các thang đo. Kết quả phân tích tương quan cho thấy trì hoãn trong học tập có tương quan nghịch chiều với các loại động lực học tập tự chủ và mức độ thỏa mãn các nhu cầu tâm lý cơ bản. Phân tích đường dẫn cho thấy sự thỏa mãn nhu cầu gắn kết và nhu cầu tự chủ góp phần làm tăng sự thỏa mãn nhu cầu năng lực, qua đó làm giảm tình trạng thiếu động lực học tập đồng thời làm tăng động lực hướng đến thành tựu, và dẫn tới mức độ trì hoãn học tập thấp hơn. Các kết quả nghiên cứu ửng hộ giả thuyết của lý thuyết tự quyết về vai trò của việc đáp ứng các nhu cầu tâm lý cơ bản nhằm thúc đẩy động lực bên trong. [The study was conducted based on the self-determination theory to examine the relationships between the satisfaction of basic psychological needs, academic motivation, and academic procrastination among students. The sample was a convenient ?one with 341 students aged between 19 and 26. In particular, males accounted for 11.7% and females accounted for 88.3%. The level of satisfaction of basic psychological needs, the types of academic motivation, and the level of academic procrastination were measured by several scales. The results of correlation analysis showed that the academic procrastination was negatively correlated with autonomous academic motivations and the level of the satisfaction of basic psychological needs. Path analysis showed that the satisfaction of relatedness and autonomy needs contributed to the satisfaction of competence need, thereby reducing amotivation and increasing intrinsic motivation towards achievement which lead to lower levels of academic procrastination. The findings supported the hypothesis of self-determination theory about the role of meeting basic psychological needs in order to promote intrinsic motivation.]


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian H. Müller ◽  
Almut E. Thomas ◽  
Matteo Carmignola ◽  
Ann-Kathrin Dittrich ◽  
Alexander Eckes ◽  
...  

Self-determination theory assumes that the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are associated with motivational regulation. As these basic psychological needs may have been affected by the shift to distance learning, students’ motivational regulation and vitality may have suffered as well. The purpose of this study was to examine the motivational regulation, satisfaction, or frustration of the basic psychological needs and vitality of university students before and after the transition to forced distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: Two student samples from Austria and Germany were studied: One was surveyed before the conversion to distance learning (N=1,139) and the other at the beginning of forced distance learning (N=1,835). The instruments used were the Scales for the Measurement of Motivational Regulation for Learning in University Students (SMR-L), the German version of the Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction and Frustration Scale, a scale developed by the authors to differentiate the assessment of social relatedness, and the German version of the Subjective Vitality Scale. The results show that the satisfaction of basic psychological needs was significantly lower and the frustration thereof substantially higher during the distance learning period than before the pandemic. Intrinsic motivation and identified regulation were significantly lower during the forced distance learning period, and more controlled forms of motivation were higher than before the pandemic. Structural equation models showed that 42% of the students’ vitality can be explained by motivational regulation and the satisfaction and frustration of their basic needs. Motivational regulation styles functioned (differentiated according to the degree of autonomy) as mediating variables between basic needs and vitality. In terms of theoretical implications, the distinction between approach and avoidance components of introjected regulation was shown to be adequate and necessary, as they explain the outcome vitality differently. The support and avoidance of frustration of basic psychological needs should be considered in distance learning to promote the quality of motivation and students’ vitality.


10.28945/4415 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. 581-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vijay Kumar ◽  
Amrita Kaur

Aim/Purpose: The quality, degree of effort and persistence required in doctoral studies can be sustained through intrinsic motivation. Despite the critical role of motivation, studies that examine ways to promote doctoral students’ motivation are lacking. This study, drawing on the self-determination theoretical (SDT) framework, aims to offer advice for supervisory practices to facilitate the satisfaction of three basic psychological needs- autonomy, competence and relatedness of doctoral students’ motivation. The focus was on the experiences of the doctoral candidates who participated in this study. Background: Prior studies have established that creating environment and ways that lead to satisfaction of three basic psychological needs are capable of producing optimal outcomes. Based on that assumption the current study explores the ways in which supervisory practices lead to satisfaction of the three needs. Methodology: The study adopted a qualitative approach and used the experience sampling method to collect data from 11 full-time doctoral students from a research-intensive university in New Zealand. In total, 72 entries that captured students’ real-time psychological experience of supervision in a repeated manner were used to analyse the data. Contribution: It proposes theory driven practices/guidelines for supervisors to adopt for effective supervisory practices for intrinsic motivation of doctoral students. Findings: Thematic analysis guided by the research question revealed that to have students experience autonomy support the supervisors must respect students’ research interest, encourage self-initiation, and be amenable to changes suggested by the students. To have students experience the feeling of competence, the supervisors carefully need to consider the quality, mode and time of feedback and provide students with optimal challenge level. Finally, to facilitate students’ need for relatedness, the supervisors should offer personal and professional support to students and look after their emotional well-being. Recommendations for Practitioners: This study highlights the need for supervisors to acknowledge the role of need satisfaction and mindfully adopt the practices to facilitate the satisfaction of the three needs for the intrinsic motivation of the doctoral students. Recommendation for Researchers: The researchers should consider the psychological health and well-being of doctoral students for persistence and successful completion of their studies. Impact on Society: The study can help improve doctoral studies completion rates as well as produce doctoral candidates with a positive and healthy disposition for future workforce. Future Research: The current study relies only on students’ self-report data. In future inclusion of data from supervisors of their own practices would enhance the quality of findings. Additionally, an analysis to chart changes in students’ experiences over time would provide a deeper understanding of the effect of supervisory practices.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 245-256
Author(s):  
Stéphanie van der Burgt ◽  
Anne de la croix ◽  
Gerda Croiset ◽  
Marike Broekman ◽  
Saskia Peerdeman ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Rupal M. Patel ◽  
John Bartholomew

Job burnout is a threat for physical therapists. Little research has been conducted to identify possible protective factors against burnout in this population. Accordingly, we utilized the job demands-resources (JD-R) model and self-determination theory to guide our examination of basic psychological needs as factors to predict burnout in physical therapists. One hundred and two licensed physical therapists completed surveys. Higher levels of autonomy, competence and relatedness predicted burnout, even after accounting for job demands. Job resources, such as the basic psychological needs outlined by the self-determination theory, along with perceived respect, buffer the negative effects of secondary trauma on burnout. The job resource of perceived respect also buffers the negative effects of the physical demands of the job on burnout. These findings suggest that while job demands can be difficult to change, increasing the fulfillment of job resources can help ameliorate burnout in physical therapists. The present findings highlight the need for workplace interventions which cultivate the satisfaction of the basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness to address burnout among physical therapists.


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