1. Psychological
Needs
Chapter 6

2. Psychological
Need

3. Organismic Approach to Motivation
Self-Determination
Theory
Two Assumptions

4. Person-Environment Dialectic
In dialectic, the relationship between person and environment is reciprocal (two-way); the environment acts on
the person and the person acts on the environment. Both the person and the environment constantly change.

5. Self-Determination Theory
Three
Psychological Needs
Autonom y Competence Relatedness

6. Autonom y
Behavior is autonomous (or self-determined) when our interests, preferences, and wants
guide our decision-making process to engage or not to engage in a particular activity.

7. Three Subjective Qualities Within
The Experience Of Autonomy
Perceived Autonomy
Internal
Volition Perceived Choice
Perceived Locus of
Causality
(Feeling Free) over One’s Actions
an individual’s an unpressured sense of choice we
understanding of the willingness to engage in experience when we are in
causal source of his or an activity environments that provide
her motivated actions us with decision-making
flexibility that affords us
with many opportunities to
choose

8. The Conundrum of
Choice promote autonomy.
Not all choices
“either-or” choice offerings
Choice among options offered by others
• True choice over people’s actions
• Meaningful choice that reflects people’s values & interests
Enhance a sense of need- Enhance intrinsic motivation,
satisfying autonomy effort, creativity, preference for
challenge, and performance

9. Supporting Autonomy
Autonomy-Supportive vs. Controlling Motivating Style
Autonom y Support
Interpersonal sentiment and behavior to identify, nurture,
and develop another’s inner motivational resources
Control
Interpersonal sentiment and behavior to pressure another
toward compliance with a prescribed way of thinking, feeling,
or behaving

10. Supporting Autonomy
Autonomy-Supportive vs. Controlling Motivating Style
ENABLEING CONDITION
Autonom y Support
 Takes the other person’s perspective
 Values personal growth opportunities
Control
 Pressures the other person toward a prescribed outcome
 Targets a prescribed outcome

11. Supporting Autonomy
Autonomy-Supportive vs. Controlling Motivating Style
INSTRUCTIONAL BEHAVIORS
Autonom y Support
• Nurtures Inner Motivational Resources
• Relies on Informational Language
• Promoting Valuing
• Acknowledges and Accepts Negative Affect
Control
• Relies on outer sources of motivation
• Relies on pressuring language
• Neglects explanatory rationales
• Asserts power to silence negative affect and to resolve
conflict

12. Four Essential Ways of Supporting
Autonomy
1. Nurtures Inner Motivational Resources
Autonomy-Supportive Motivators
 Encourage initiative on others by identifying their interests,
preferences, and competences.
 Find ways to allow others to behave in ways that express those
interests, preferences, and competences.
•
Controlling Motivators
 Forgo inner motivational resources.
 Rely on extrinsic motivators (e.g., incentives, directives,
consequences, and deadlines).

13. Four Essential Ways of Supporting
Autonom y
2. Relies on Informational Language
Autonomy-Supportive Motivators
 Treat listlessness, poor performance, and inappropriate behavior
as motivational problems to be solved
 Address the motivational problem with flexible and informational
language
- Diagnose the cause of the motivational problems
- Communicate feedback to identify points of improvement and progress
Controlling Motivators
 Use a pressuring, rigid, and “no nonsense” communication style

14. Four Essential Ways of Supporting
Autonom y
3. Promotes Valuing
Autonomy-Supportive Motivators
 Communicate the value, worth, meaning, utility, or importance of
engaging in uninteresting tasks
- Using a “because” phrase to explain why the uninteresting activity is worth
the other’s time and effort
Controlling Motivators
 Do not take the time to explain the use of importance in engaging in
these sorts of activities
-Saying “Just get it done” or “Do it because I told you to do it”

15. Four Essential Ways of Supporting
Autonomy
4. Acknowledges and Accepts Negative Affect
Autonomy-Supportive Motivators
 Listen carefully to the expressions of negative affect and resistance
and accept them as valid reactions
 Work collaboratively with the other person to solve the underlying
a cause of the negative affect and resistance
Controlling Motivators
 Ignore the other’s expressions of negative affect and
resistance
 Try to change the negative affect into something more
acceptable

16. Moment- to Moment Autonomy Supp
ort
What Autonomy-Supportive and Controlling People Say and Do to Motivate Others
What Autonomy-Supportive What Controlling People
People Say and Do Say and Do
 Listen carefully  Hold/Hog learning
 Allow others time to talk materials
 Provide rationale  Show correct answers
 Encourage effort  Tell correct answers
 Praise progress, mastery  Speak directives,
commands
 Ask others what they want
to do  Should, must, have to
statements
 Respond to questions
 Ask controlling questions
 Acknowledge the other’s
 Seem demanding
perspective
Table 6.2

17. Benefits From Autonom y Sup
port
Autonomy, Competence, Relatedness

 Intrinsic Motivation
Motivation  Mastery Motivation & Perceived Control
 Curiosity
 Internalized Values
 Engagement
 Positive Emotion
 Less Negative Emotion
Engagement  Class Attendance
 Persistence
 School Retention vs. Dropping Out
 Self-Worth
Development  Creativity
 Preference for Optimal Challenge

18. Benefits From Autonomy Support
(Cont.)
 Conceptual Understanding
 Deep Processing
Learning  Active Information Processing
 Self-Regulation Strategies
Grades

Performance Task Performance

 Standardized Test Scores
Psychological Psychological Well-Being

Vitality
Well-Being  School/ Life Satisfaction

19. T wo Illustr ations
Study 1
Teachers’
Autonomy-
Support Students’
Perceived
Autonomy Students’
Parental Self- Students’
Autonomy- Determined Dropout
Support Academic Behavior
Students’ Motivation
Perceived
Competence
Administrators’
Autonomy-
Support
Figure 6.4 Motivational Model of High-School Dropouts, p. 154

20. Two Illustrations
Study 2
Table 6.3 Children’s Motivational Benefits from Autonomy-Supportive
(Rather Than Controlling) Rules
Dependent Rules Communicated Rules Communicated in a
Measure in a Controlling Way Autonomy-Supportive Way
Enjoyment M 4.87 5.57
(SD) (0.99) (0.65)
Free Choice M 107.7 257.1
Behavior (SD) (166.0) (212.6)
Creativity M 4.80 5.34
(SD) (1.16) (1.17)
Technical M 4.88 5.90
Goodness (SD) (0.87) (1.28)
Quality M 4.84 5.62
(SD) (0.68) (1.06)

21. COMPETENC
E

22. Involving Competence
Key Environmental Conditions

23. Involving Competence
Flow
Figure 6.5 Flow Model

24. Supporting Competenc
e
Positive Feedback
Four Sources
 Task itself
 Comparisons of one’s current performance with one’s own past performance
 Comparisons of one’s current performance with the performance of others
 Evaluations of others
Pleasure of Optimal Challenge and Positive Feedback
 Harter’s anagram study (1974, 1978b)
Children experience the greatest pleasure following success
in the context of moderate challenge

25. Relatednes
s

26. REL ATEDNES
S

28. PUTTING IT ALL TOGEHER:
SOCIAL CONTEXTS THAT SUPPORT PSY
CHOLOGICAL NEEDS
Table 6.4 Environmental Factors that Involve and Satisfy the Psychological Needs
Psychological Environmental Condition Environmental Condition
Need that Involves the Need that Satisfies the Need
Autonomy Opportunities for Autonomy support
self-direction
Competence Optimal challenge Positive feedback
Relatedness Social interaction Communal relationships

29. Engageme
nt
The Engagement Model Based on Psychological Need Satisfaction

30. What Makes for a Good Day?
Daily
Autonomy
Psychological
Nutriments
for Good
Days
Daily Daily
Competence Relatedness
Psychological Nutriments necessary for
Good Days, Positive Well-Being, and Vitality