scholarly journals University Students’ Basic Psychological Needs, Motivation, and Vitality Before and During COVID-19: A Self-Determination Theory Approach

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.

Author(s):  
Daniela Martinek ◽  
Matteo Carmignola ◽  
Florian H. Müller ◽  
Sonja Bieg ◽  
Almut Thomas ◽  
...  

During the pandemic restrictions imposed in spring 2020, many aspects of students’ living and learning environments changed drastically. From the perspective of Self-Determination Theory, changes in social context interact with the satisfaction or frustration of basic psychological needs and, as a result, with study-related motivational regulation and vitality. In this study, we investigate the relationships between the contextual factors of online-based distance learning, basic psychological needs, forms of motivational regulation and subjective vitality in a sample of N = 1849 university students across eight universities in Austria and Germany. Based on structural equational modelling, the results stress the relevance of satisfaction with technological resources in regard to higher levels of satisfaction in all three basic psychological needs, while perceived overload is linked to lower levels of needs satisfaction and increased basic psychological needs frustration. Further, the estimated workload difference before and during the pandemic is not related to the motivational outcomes of the model. All relationships have been tested for mediation effects between basic psychological needs and the different forms of motivational regulation on subjective vitality: for the need for relatedness, no mediation is found, while the effect of the need for autonomy is fully mediated by autonomous regulation styles. The need for competence was associated with several mediating interactions with regulation styles. The results offer insight into students’ perceptions of their study-related experiences during the pandemic and can help to develop effective methods in online-based and blended learning settings in the future.


2020 ◽  
pp. 216747952094387
Author(s):  
Tyreal Yizhou Qian ◽  
Jerred Junqi Wang ◽  
James Jianhui Zhang ◽  
John Hulland

This study examines esports fans’ psychological processes and pertinent behaviors through the lens of the self-determination theory (SDT). The extent to which the esports fans’ basic psychological needs—that is, competence, autonomy, and relatedness—are satisfied were assessed by using a composite latent variable model. Findings derived from the data analyses confirmed the relevance of the SDT in explaining pertinent information on need satisfaction, motivation, and related consumption behaviors. In particular, relatedness was identified as the most salient basic psychological need dimension, suggesting that satisfying this need is critically important for esports consumption. Both the inquiry protocol and the findings of this investigation contribute to the existing literature on motivation by developing an SDT model in esports media studies. Further discussions were made on deciphering the opportunities and challenges associated with the burgeoning esports industry.


Author(s):  
Manuel De La Cruz ◽  
Jorge Zamarripa ◽  
Isabel Castillo

This study based on the self-determination theory aims to examine the relationship among the aspirations that fathers have about their children’s youth baseball practice, the children’s basic psychological needs (satisfaction and frustration), and their intentions to either continue or drop out of baseball practice in a sample of children from Hermosillo, Mexico. A cross-sectional study was carried out involving 533 fathers (M = 44.30, SD = 5.18) and 533 children (M = 13.09, SD = 1.68). The results showed that the intrinsic aspirations of fathers were positively correlated to the satisfaction of the children’s psychological needs, whereas the extrinsic aspirations of fathers were positively correlated with the frustration of the children’s psychological needs. Satisfaction of basic psychological needs was positively correlated with the intention to continue and negatively correlated with dropout; on the contrary, frustration of basic psychological needs was negatively correlated with the intention to continue and positively with dropout. In conclusion, the fathers’ pursuit of intrinsic aspirations for their children in the youth baseball context satisfies the children’s basic psychological needs, and in turn, their intention to continue practicing increases. Conversely, when a father pursues extrinsic aspirations for his son in youth baseball, the child will feel his basic psychological needs frustrated, and he will have a greater intention to drop out. Overall, this study extends the existing sport-scientific literature by confirming the impact of parents’ aspirations on their children’s basic psychological needs and intention to continue being baseball players.


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.]


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