Integrating Self-determination Theory Research Articles

Investigating the role of teacher concern in EFL students’ motivation, anxiety, and language achievement through the lens of self-determination theory

While it is important for teachers to care about students' academic performance and mental health, controlling and overprotective behavior can have long-term negative effects on students. Despite extensive research on the relationship between student achievement and teachers' caring behavior, research has investigated students' actual experiences of the pressures they face from teachers' expectations and concerns. To this aim, 400 Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) institute students participated in this study. EFL teachers were chosen for the challenges and anxiety that learning a language brings to the students. In many countries, English is considered important for academic and professional success, and as a result, students and teachers place high expectations and emphasis on performance in this area. Surveys were completed to examine student active and passive motivation, anxiety, and teachers’ level of concern. This study found that teacher concern was a significant predictor of student motivation, while teacher metapathy and empathy negatively predicted anxiety, and teacher apathy positively predicted anxiety. Furthermore, teacher apathy negatively predicted foreign language learning outcomes, whereas teacher concern, mediated by motivation, directly predicted foreign language learning outcomes. In conclusion, caring and supportive teachers who foster a sense of belonging align with self-determination theory, boosting student motivation and improving outcomes. This study highlights the important role of such teachers in student success and the need to integrate self-determination theory into educational practice.

Developing a Training in Motivational Counselling to Promote Return to Work: An Intervention Mapping Approach.

Due to the Belgian health insurance system's controlling nature, work-disabled claimants can feel forced to return to work (RTW), increasing their risk of relapse. RTW out of interest or importance is considered more sustainable. Such autonomous motivation for RTW can be promoted through 'motivational counselling', an integration of self-determination theory and motivational interviewing. To adopt this, health insurance practitioners need training, which can be designed through intervention mapping as an evidence-based planning tool. This paper reports on the development of a motivational counselling training for health insurance practitioners. Intervention mapping's six steps guided the formulation of programme goals and learning outcomes, matching the context. We then identified change methods which were translated into practical components. Together with the health insurances' input, this resulted in a concrete training programme with an implementation and evaluation plan. The training was designed to increase practitioners' knowledge, skills, and beliefs relevant for learning motivational counselling, which also requires solution-focused strategies. Methods like guided practice were translated into built-in exercises, feedback, and information, which were implemented through an online training format of five sessions including one follow-up. Reporting about training development increases understanding of its effectiveness and implementation, which will be evaluated via pre- and post-training data collection amongst practitioners. Future trainings can benefit from this by accounting for health insurances' organizational barriers or building on the training's evidence-based backbone whilst only requiring specific adaptations for other stakeholders and contexts. Further research should evaluate motivational counselling's impact on claimants' RTW trajectories.

A conceptual model of individuals' decision to engage in global mobility: integrating self-determination theory and theory of planned behavior

PurposeCompanies target globally mobile workers and face the war for talent, while individuals are more reluctant to engage in global mobility. This scenario led us to propose a model to understand the individuals' decision process to engage in global mobility.Design/methodology/approachBuilding on the self-determination theory, the theory of planned behavior and the literature on decisions for global mobility, the authors propose mechanisms through which psychological variables and assignments' factual and perceived contextual aspects (directly or indirectly) explain the decision to engage or not in global mobility.FindingsThis study offers a conceptual model with the authors' novel propositions to explain individuals' decision to engage in global mobility.Originality/valueThe model provides a more comprehensive explanation of the individuals' decision-making process to engage in global mobility than previous models and potentially yields more effective organizational practices to attract both well-established and emerging phenomena of globally mobile workers.

Empowering Movement: Enhancing Young Adults' Physical Activity through Self-Determination Theory and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy-Based Intervention.

This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of a combined Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) intervention, the "Running Minds" program, in promoting physical activity (PA) among young adults. The intervention, consisting of eight sessions, targeted motivational and psychological barriers to PA. It intertwined SDT's core components (autonomy, competence, relatedness) with ACT's emphasis on mindfulness and value-driven actions. This study used a qualitative approach, collecting data through semi-structured interviews with twelve participants aged 20-35, conducted post-intervention. Our reflexive thematic analysis of the interviews revealed five key themes: alignment with personal values, rewarding experience of the sessions, fulfillment of social connectedness, enhancement of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and observable behavioral changes. These findings highlight the importance of aligning exercise with personal values and the role of supportive social environments in sustaining PA. The integration of SDT and ACT in the "Running Minds" program appears to be a viable approach for enhancing motivation and adherence to PA among young adults. This study offers valuable insights for future PA interventions, underscoring the need for strategies that consider psychological and social dimensions. Limitations and Future Research: Despite the promising results, limitations include potential recall bias and the short duration of the study. Further research, especially focusing on more diverse groups and employing longitudinal designs, is recommended to broaden and substantiate these findings.

Students’ Online Learning Adoption during an Emergency Situation: Integrating the Self-Determination and Perceived Risk Theories

By integrating self-determination theory and perceived risk theory, the current research proposes a new model to predict students’ online learning adoption during an emergency situation such as the COVID-19 pandemic. More specifically, it is aimed at exploring how online communication self-efficacy, online learning belonging, and perceived risk predict students’ online learning adoption. A printed questionnaire was developed to collect data from 487 Vietnamese students using a quota sampling method. After missing data and outliers were removed, 450 questionnaires were found to be usable for data analysis. SMARTPLS version 3.2.2 was employed to analyze PLS-SEM and test the proposed hypotheses. The study found that online communication self-efficacy and perceived risk both have direct effects on students’ online learning adoption as well as indirect effects through the partial mediating role of online learning belonging. Our study also explored that perceived risk does not play a moderation in the association between online learning belonging and students’ online learning adoption. These findings fill important gaps in the literature and provide some implications for academicians, governments, educators, and parents in fostering students’ adoption of online learning.

A latent profile analysis of students’ attitudes towards astronomy across grades 9–13

ABSTRACT Astronomy is seen as a "gateway" science, inspiring students to pursue Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics (STEM) related careers. However, there is little evidence that students' attitudes towards astronomy remain stable over time. By integrating Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), we identified three dimensions of students' attitudes towards astronomy - intrinsic, which refers to the enjoyment of studying astronomy, extrinsic, which refers to the will to pursue a career in astronomy, and utilitarian, which refers to the relevance of astronomy to society. We used these dimensions as indicators for a Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) to identify attitudinal profiles of 2650 Italian students in grades 9-13. We identified seven profiles, ranging from completely negative to completely positive attitudes. In particular, students enter secondary school mostly interested in astronomy and with a positive view of astronomy. By the end of secondary school, students have significantly lower attitudes towards astronomy in all three dimensions identified. From a theoretical perspective, our study shows that the SDT/TPB framework can be used to develop future instruments aimed at measuring students' attitudes towards science. From a practical point of view, our results call for better support for teachers to maintain students' attitudes towards astronomy throughout secondary school.

Determination of loyalty among high school students to retain in the same university for higher education: An integration of Self-Determination Theory and Extended Theory of Planned Behavior

Student loyalty generally refers to the formed bond between the student and a university. This relationship between a university and its students proves essential in a university’s success in the competitive field of higher education institutions. The aim of this study was to determine the factors affecting students’ loyalty among high school students to pursue their college or higher education in their current universities by utilizing Self-Determination Theory and Extended Theory of Planned Behavior. A total of 1224 high school students voluntarily participated and answered an online questionnaire that consist of 80 questions. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) showed that competency had the highest direct significant effect on perceived behavioral control which subsequently led to student satisfaction, followed by relatedness and empathy. In addition, student satisfaction had the highest direct effect significant effect on student loyalty, followed by university image and effectiveness. Interestingly, university ranking, programs offered, and kinship patronage also had significant indirect effects on student loyalty. This new framework may be a theoretical foundation for universities to enhance student loyalty and student recruitment. Considering students as customers, the satisfaction of students would result in an increase in the application which would present an increase in population, sales, marketability, and profitability of the university.

EXPLORING PEDAGOGIES OF AFFECT IN SECONDARY SCHOOL PHYSICAL EDUCATION FOR ENHANCED EMOTIONAL WELL-BEING

This paper aims to comprehensively analyze the pedagogies of affect in secondary school physical education, with a specific focus on their role in promoting students' emotional well-being. It addresses existing gaps in the literature by integrating Self-Determination Theory (SDT), examining teacher awareness and motivation, promoting a holistic concept of health, considering the Indonesia educational context, and utilizing a pragmatic mixed methods approach. A literature study approach is employed. The findings reveal that teacher engagement in pedagogies of affect significantly influences students' emotional well-being. Need-supportive teaching behaviors directly impact affective learning outcomes, emphasizing the importance of autonomy, relatedness, and intrinsic motivation. Teachers' self-awareness and the quality of teacher-student relationships play pivotal roles in shaping emotional experiences in physical education. This research contributes novel insights into the field, offering a comprehensive framework for promoting emotional well-being in physical education. It highlights the transformative potential of education in nurturing not only the bodies but also the hearts and minds of young individuals in the pursuit of overall well-being.

How green intrinsic and extrinsic motivations interact, balance and imbalance with each other to trigger green purchase intention and behavior: A polynomial regression with response surface analysis

This research aims to examine how green extrinsic and intrinsic motivations individually and jointly affect green purchase intention and actual behavior, drawing on the integration of self-determination theory and the theory of planned behavior. Based upon a sample of 4062 consumers in Vietnam, we methodologically adopted a polynomial regression with response surface analysis to shed the light on how a higher degree of eco-friendly consumption intention and behavior is synthesized from the balance between high green extrinsic and intrinsic motivations. Conversely, a large imbalance between green extrinsic and intrinsic motivations will lower the level of environmentally friendly consumption. Additionally, this study indicates that green purchase intention is the most important predictor of green purchase behavior, and that green purchase intention significantly mediates the insolated and joint effects of green extrinsic and intrinsic motivations on eco-friendly consumption behavior.

Perceptions of the motivational climate, basic psychological needs, and life skills development in Chinese physical education students.

Life skills can have a positive impact on young people's mental health, academic performance, and overall well-being. Physical education (PE) is viewed as a promising setting for developing students' life skills, but less is known about this in non-English speaking countries such as China. Based on the integration of Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and Achievement Goal Theory (AGT), we aimed to examine the relationships between students' perceptions of the teacher-initiated motivational climate (mastery- or performance-oriented) and their life skills development in PE, as well as the mediating role of their basic psychological needs (BPNs) (satisfaction or frustration). We employed a cross-sectional survey. Chinese students (N = 533, Age range = 13-18 years) completed measures assessing these variables. We fulfilled correlational and mediational analyses. These findings showed that mastery climate was positively associated with needs satisfaction (r = 0.66) and eight life skills (r range = 0.44-0.61), whereas negatively associated with needs frustration (r = -0.49). Performance climate was positively related to needs frustration (r = 0.52), but negatively related to needs satisfaction (r = -0.38) and eight life skills (r range = -0.28 - -0.15). Needs satisfaction was positively (r range = 0.44-0.65), while needs frustration was negatively (r range = -0.50 - -0.34) linked with eight life skills. Furthermore, needs satisfaction positively mediated the effect of mastery climate on life skills development, but it is not found that needs frustration mediated the effect of performance climate on life skills besides goal setting, social skills, and time management. In conclusion, our study extended the previous literature on life skills in PE, and highlighted the roles of motivational climate and BPNs on students' life skills development. In practice, PE teachers should be encouraged to create a mastery climate as well as avoid a performance climate, to foster students' BPNs satisfaction, which in turn, promote their life skills development.

Understanding extra-role security behaviors: An integration of self-determination theory and construal level theory

Extra-role security behaviors (ERSBs) – spontaneous security behaviors that are not prescribed in organizational security policies – are seen as a useful addition to securing informational assets in organizations. However, this exploratory study, based on findings obtained through 29 in-depth-interviews, challenges this positive perspective and shows that extra-role security behaviors cut both ways: They are either helpful or harmful. In addition, our results suggest that (1) ERSB contributes to varying degrees to the effectiveness of information security compliance, (2) the self-determination theory contributes to understanding the motivators for ERSB, and (3) the construal level theory of psychological distance explains the differential risk evaluation of ERSB. We discuss implications for researchers and practitioners – particularly in terms of promoting the beneficial nature of extra-role security behaviors – and suggest compelling avenues for future research.

DESIGNING WITH SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY: HOME-BASED DIGITAL EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS CREATING POSITIVE CHANGE

AbstractThe well-thought implementation of technology within the product-service system (PSS) will undoubtedly contribute to the increase of healthy life expectancy and to the improvement of the wellbeing of society. The ‘Exercise-Well’ project, explored the problem and solution areas related to home-based exercise through digital interventions. Students worked in pairs and expected to propose a PSS solution providing a type of sports/physical activities for individuals to support their wellbeing. The proposed solutions were encouraged to create positive change especially through the integration of self-determination theory (SDT), but also be functionality suited to the persona. The project had the goals of directing students: i) to learn how digital technologies can be best tailored to assist people to exercise; ii) to consider engineering and healthcare domain constraints for utilizing convenient technological methods and integrating relevant hardware and software components; and iii) to motivate people by integrating autonomy, competence, relatedness into their design proposals. The paper demonstrated how SDT can be integrated into the design process, and how home-based digital exercise interventions can lead to creative solutions.

Will Great Power Come with Great Responsibility Only? A Dual Model of Consumer Power and Negative WOM on Social Media Review Platforms

With the popularization of social media and review platforms, customers play a role as reviewers and realize an online power to influence others. This paper attempts to examine the effect of power, and its underlying mechanisms, on the intention to share negative word-of-mouth (NWOM). Integrating self-determination theory with the agentic-communal framework, we propose a research model investigating communal and agentic drives on NWOM sharing. The results show that power is positively related to NWOM, while both prosocial motivation (the communal drive) and self-enhancement (the agentic drive) mediate the relationship. As extrinsic conditions, brand awareness and compensation buffer the mediating effect of power on NWOM through prosocial motivation and self-enhancement. In addition, three-way interaction results indicate that the indirect effects through prosocial motivation and self-enhancement are both the strongest when brand awareness is lower and there is no compensation. Yet the indirect effects become non-significant when well-known brands offer compensation. This study contributes new insights to the theoretical development and provides practical implications for WOM marketing.

Improving knowledge sharing through intrinsic motivation in the integration of self determination theory and theory of reason for action

One source of an organization's competitive advantage is knowledge. Knowledge plays an important role in innovation and performance in organizations in previous studies. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of motivation in information sharing. This research is motivated by intrinsic factors (the joy of helping others). The Self Determination Theoty and Theory of Reason Action describe the mechanism. In order to describe the method by which motivation influences information sharing, knowledge sharing intents are utilized. The findings of testing the hypothesis indicate that intrinsic desire positively influences information sharing behavior and that knowledge sharing intentions are fully regulated.

Autonomous Motives Foster Sustained Commitment to Action: Integrating Self-Determination Theory and the Social Identity Approach.

Social change movements may take years or decades to achieve their goals and thus require ongoing efforts from their supporters. We apply the insights of self-determination theory to examine sustained collective action over time. We expected that autonomous motivation, but not controlled motivation, would predict sustained action. We also examine whether autonomous motivation shapes and is shaped by social identification as a supporter of the cause. Longitudinal data were collected from supporters of global poverty reduction (N = 263) at two timepoints 1 year apart. Using latent change score modeling, we found that increases in autonomous motivation positively predicted increases in opinion-based group identification, which in turn predicted increases in self-reported collective action. Controlled motivation (Time 1) negatively predicted changes in action. We concluded that autonomous motivation predicts sustained action over time, while promoting controlled motives for action may backfire because it may undermine identification with the cause.

Indirect associations between impulsivity and alcohol outcomes through motives for drinking responsibly among U.S. college students: an integration of self-determination theory and the acquired preparedness model

The aim of this study was to conduct a preliminary investigation of the associations between facets of impulsivity and alcohol outcomes through motives for drinking responsibly described by self-determination theory (SDT) among college students. Participants (N = 2808) were part of a multisite investigation of college student drinking across 10 universities in 8 states in the USA who reported past-month drinking. Results of a structural equation model testing all possible indirect associations simultaneously indicated that one-third (20 out of 60) of the indirect associations were statistically significant (p<.01). Facets with higher scores representing higher impulsivity (negative/positive urgency) were negatively associated with more internalized motives (autonomous motivation and introjected regulation) and positively associated with less internalized motives (external regulation and amotivation) for drinking responsibly. Facets with higher scores representing lower impulsivity (perseverance and premeditation) demonstrated opposite patterns of associations with motives for drinking responsibly. In turn, more internalized motives were related to higher frequency of protective behavioral strategies use, lower alcohol use severity, and fewer negative alcohol-related consequences; less internalized motives demonstrated an opposite pattern of associations with these alcohol outcomes. The present findings should be replicated using experimental and longitudinal studies for appropriately testing mediation but offer support for a novel hypothesis for motivational pathways from impulsivity to alcohol outcomes that may provide insight into intervention targets, if further supported by future research.

Understanding Chinese EFL Learners’ Acceptance of Gamified Vocabulary Learning Apps: An Integration of Self-Determination Theory and Technology Acceptance Model

Implementing the idea of gamification in mobile-assisted language learning has recently been gaining increasing attention from academia and industry. However, few studies have investigated students’ motivation to use and their acceptance of popular gamified English vocabulary learning apps. This study proposes a theoretical framework combining the self-determination theory and the technology acceptance model, and examines it with survey data collected from 272 Chinese college students. The findings of the descriptive statistical and structural equation modeling analysis include: (1) students generally choose these apps out of autonomous motivations instead of controlled motivations; (2) autonomous motivation positively affects both perceived usefulness and ease of use, whereas controlled motivation only shows positive effects on the former; (3) controlled motivation does not affect the autonomous motivation to adopt these apps; and (4) consistent with the TAM frameworks, perceived usefulness and ease of use positively affect behavioral intention and actual behavior in terms of the frequency and duration of use in the gamified English vocabulary learning context. This study is expected to not only provide a solid theoretical explanation about the impact of motivation on the degree of acceptance of learning technologies in the language education context among specific student groups, but also offers practical insights on how to maximize the potential benefits of gamification and mobile learning in foreign language education

‘When Theories Meet’: Approaching Intergroup Contact from a Self-Determination Theory Perspective

Intergroup contact theory provides a useful framework for effective interventions to improve intergroup relationship; however, disharmony between various social groups perseveres. These contact processes, their successes and failures, remain relatively unexplored from the perspective of human motivation to engage in intergroup contact. To address this, we integrate self-determination theory as a well-established theory of human motivation with existing evidence of intergroup contact research. Further, we explore the role of individual well-being in intergroup contact, which, though a prominent outcome of self-determined behavior according to motivational theories, is rarely addressed in the contact literature. Finally, this review discusses how the theoretical integration can serve to categorize and interpret findings from contact research. We deduce implications for future intergroup contact research which may reveal further mechanisms of contact and guide conceptualizing more effective intergroup contact interventions.

Understanding travel tracking mobile application usage: An integration of self determination theory and UTAUT2

By integrating the Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan 1985) and a modified version of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) framework (Venkatesh et al., 2012), this study aimed to investigate factors affecting travelers' intention to share their travel-related information on travel tracking mobile applications (TTMA). The proposed model was tested via structural equation modeling by using data collected from 305 mobile app users. The results revealed that effort expectancy, hedonic motivation, social benefits, self-image had a positive impact; and location privacy concern had a negative impact on users' intention to post travel-related information on TTMAs. The findings of the current study contribute to the literature in the context of technology acceptance in general, and TTMA acceptance in the travel and tourism industries in particular. The study results also provide practical implications, especially for entrepreneurs and tourism-related technology companies.

Determining factors influencing students’ future intentions to enroll in chemistry-related courses: integrating self-determination theory and theory of planned behavior

ABSTRACT Chemistry-related courses cover a wide range of disciplines focusing on the application of Chemistry. The purpose of this study was to determine factors affecting student’s future intention to enroll in chemistry-related courses in the Philippines. A total of 953 senior high school students from the Philippines answered an online questionnaire consisting of 42 questions. Several factors, such as attitude towards laboratory, attitude towards chemistry, affective, autonomy, relatedness, competency, perceived behavioral control, and future intentions, were analyzed simultaneously utilizing Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). SEM indicated that affective behavior affected by attitude towards chemistry was found to be the most significant factor on student’s future intention to enroll in chemistry-related courses, followed by autonomy, and competence to perceived behavioral control. Interestingly, attitude towards laboratory and relatedness were found not to have significant effects on student’s future intention. This study integrated the self-determination theory and theory of planned behavior among senior high school students to determine factors influencing students to enroll in chemistry-related courses in the Philippines. The findings can be utilized as a theoretical foundation particularly for enhancing the enrollees of chemistry-related courses. In addition, the approach can also be utilized to evaluate other courses for future intentions to enroll.