Favoriser la motivation optimale et la santé mentale dans les divers milieux de vie.

Self-determination theory (SDT) differentiates motivation, with autonomous and controlled motivations constituting the key, broad distinction. Research has shown that autonomous motivation predicts persistence and adherence and is advantageous for effective performance, especially on complex or heuristic tasks that involve deep information processing or creativity. Autonomous motivation is also reliably related to psychological health. Considerable research has found interpersonal contexts that facilitate satisfaction of the basic psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness to enhance autonomous motivation, which comprises intrinsic motivation and well-internalized extrinsic motivation. SDT has been applied in varied cultures and in many life domains, and research is reviewed that has related autonomous and controlled motivation to education, parenting, work, health care, sport, and close relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correction to Deci and Ryan.

Reports an error in "Facilitating optimal motivation and psychological well-being across life's domains" by Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan (Canadian Psychology/Psychologie Canadienne, 2008[Feb], Vol 49[1], 14-23). Figure 1 on page 17 was incorrect. The correct figure is printed in the text. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2008-03783-002.) Self-determination theory (SDT) differentiates motivation, with autonomous and controlled motivations constituting the key, broad distinction. Research has shown that autonomous motivation predicts persistence and adherence and is advantageous for effective performance, especially on complex or heuristic tasks that involve deep information processing or creativity. Autonomous motivation is also reliably related to psychological health. Considerable research has found interpersonal contexts that facilitate satisfaction of the basic psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness to enhance autonomous motivation, which comprises intrinsic motivation and well-internalized extrinsic motivation. SDT has been applied in varied cultures and in many life domains, and research is reviewed that has related autonomous and controlled motivation to education, parenting, work, health care, sport, and close relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Experiences of Autonomy and Control Among Chinese Learners: Vitalizing or Immobilizing?

Various cross-cultural researchers state that autonomy is not valued in Eastern cultures and, hence, is unlikely to predict optimal study functioning and well-being. In contrast, self-determination theory (SDT; R. M. Ryan & E. L. Deci, 2000) maintains that autonomous or volitional study motivation is universally important and should predict better learning and higher well-being, even among Chinese students. Two studies were conducted to shed light on this controversial issue. Findings from both studies indicated that autonomous study motivation positively predicts adaptive learning attitudes, academic success, and personal well-being, whereas controlled motivation was associated with higher drop-out rates, maladaptive learning attitudes, and ill-being. In addition, Study 2 revealed that parental autonomy support versus psychological control is related to more adaptive learning strategies and higher well-being and that these effects were mediated by students' relative autonomy for studying. The importance of defining autonomy as an intraindividual, phenomenological experience versus an interpersonal, culturally bounded value is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-determination theory: A macrotheory of human motivation, development, and health.

Self-determination theory (SDT) is an empirically based theory of human motivation, development, and wellness. The theory focuses on types, rather than just amount, of motivation, paying particular attention to autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, and amotivation as predictors of performance, relational, and well-being outcomes. It also addresses the social conditions that enhance versus diminish these types of motivation, proposing and finding that the degrees to which basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are supported versus thwarted affect both the type and strength of motivation. SDT also examines people's life goals or aspirations, showing differential relations of intrinsic versus extrinsic life goals to performance and psychological health. In this introduction we also briefly discuss recent developments within SDT concerning mindfulness and vitality, and highlight the applicability of SDT within applied domains, including work, relationships, parenting, education, virtual environments, sport, sustainability, health care, and psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Testing a self-determination theory intervention for motivating tobacco cessation: Supporting autonomy and competence in a clinical trial.

A longitudinal randomized trial tested the self-determination theory (SDT) intervention and process model of health behavior change for tobacco cessation (N = 1006). Adult smokers were recruited for a study of smokers' health and were assigned to intensive treatment or community care. Participants were relatively poor and undereducated. Intervention patients perceived greater autonomy support and reported greater autonomous and competence motivations than did control patients. They also reported greater medication use and significantly greater abstinence. Structural equation modeling analyses confirmed the SDT process model in which perceived autonomy support led to increases in autonomous and competence motivations, which in turn led to greater cessation. The causal role of autonomy support in the internalization of autonomous motivation, perceived competence, and smoking cessation was supported. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When helping helps: Autonomous motivation for prosocial behavior and its influence on well-being for the helper and recipient.

Self-determination theory posits that the degree to which a prosocial act is volitional or autonomous predicts its effect on well-being and that psychological need satisfaction mediates this relation. Four studies tested the impact of autonomous and controlled motivation for helping others on well-being and explored effects on other outcomes of helping for both helpers and recipients. Study 1 used a diary method to assess daily relations between prosocial behaviors and helper well-being and tested mediating effects of basic psychological need satisfaction. Study 2 examined the effect of choice on motivation and consequences of autonomous versus controlled helping using an experimental design. Study 3 examined the consequences of autonomous versus controlled helping for both helpers and recipients in a dyadic task. Finally, Study 4 manipulated motivation to predict helper and recipient outcomes. Findings support the idea that autonomous motivation for helping yields benefits for both helper and recipient through greater need satisfaction. Limitations and implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reaching one's personal goals: A motivational perspective focused on autonomy.

The present article reviews recent research on motivational factors that influence the success of personal goals. Although achieving progress on personal goals is made difficult by limitations in self-regulatory strength, it is argued that individuals who feel autonomous regarding their goals will benefit in distinct ways. The issue of autonomy concerns whether a goal reflects an individual's interests and personal values versus whether it is adopted because of social pressures or expectations of what an individual "should do." Recent research indicates that autonomous goal motivation can lead directly to greater goal progress by allowing individuals to exert more effort, experience less conflict, and feel a greater sense of readiness to change their behaviour. It also allows individuals to make better use of implementation plans specifying how, when, and where they will enact goal-directed behaviours. Support from other people (health care providers, etc.) can play a vital role in facilitating goal pursuits, especially when such support enhances feelings of autonomy. Successful goal progress results in enhanced positive affect and reduced negative affect, particularly if the goal pursuits involved satisfaction of intrinsic psychological needs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Can self-determination theory explain what underlies the productive, satisfying learning experiences of collectivistically oriented Korean students?

Recognizing recent criticisms concerning the cross-cultural generalizability of self-determination theory (SDT), the authors tested the SDT view that high school students in collectivistically oriented South Korea benefit from classroom experiences of autonomy support and psychological need satisfaction. In Study 1, experiences of autonomy, competence, and relatedness underlaid Korean students’ most satisfying learning experiences, and experiences of low autonomy and low competence underlaid their least satisfying learning experiences. In Study 2, psychological need satisfaction experiences were associated with productive (achievement and engagement) and satisfying (intrinsic motivation and proneness to negative affect) student outcomes. Study 3 replicated and extended Study 2’s structural equation modeling findings by showing that the hypothesized model explained students’ positive outcomes even after controlling for cultural and parental influences, including the collectivistic value orientation. Study 4 replicated the earlier cross-sectional findings with a semester-long prospective 3-wave design. The authors discuss how the findings support the motivation theory’s cross-cultural generalizability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Understanding motivation for exercise: A self-determination theory perspective.

Understanding the factors that motivate health-enhancing physical activity has considerable merit given the role of this lifestyle behaviour in combating disease and promoting quality of life. The purpose of this article is to provide a broad overview of research investigating participation issues in exercise from the perspective of self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2002). Evidence informing the application of SDT to the study of motivational issues in exercise is reviewed around three central questions: (a) Does the quality of motivation regulating exercise behaviour "matter"?, (b) How important are basic psychological needs within exercise contexts?, and (c) Can contextual variables be manipulated to create adaptive environments for exercise? The available evidence is supportive of many propositions set forth within SDT by Deci and Ryan's work (2002). Future avenues for exercise motivation research are offered based on the available evidence with a view to addressing unresolved issues and advancing SDT's development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dynamique motivationnelle de l'epuisement et du bien-etre chez des enseignants africains.

This study examines the links between antecedents and consequences of Gabonese teachers' (N= 152) work motivation. The theoretical underpinnings are based on the Motivational Model of Job Burnout (MMJB) which is grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and states that the more supervisors satisfy an employee's need for self-determination, competence, and relatedness, the more self-determined is the latter's work motivation. The level of self-determined motivation has an impact on job satisfaction, which in turn determines life satisfaction. Higher levels of self-determined motivation also buffer emotional exhaustion and psychological distress. The model was confirmed via structural equation modeling and provides support for the validity and generalizability of the MMJB and SDT. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Autonomous motivation for teaching: How self-determined teaching may lead to self-determined learning.

This study examined teachers' experience of autonomous motivation for teaching and its correlates in teachers and students. It was hypothesized that teachers would perceive various motivations posited by E. L. Deci and R. M. Ryan's (2000) self-determination theory as falling along a continuum of autonomous motivation for teaching. Autonomous motivation for teaching was predicted to be associated positively with teachers' sense of personal accomplishment and negatively with emotional exhaustion. Most important, teachers' self-reported autonomous motivation for teaching was expected to promote students' self-reported autonomous motivation for learning by enhancing teachers' autonomy-supportive behavior, as indicated by students' reports. Results from a sample of 132 Israeli teachers and their 1,255 students were consistent with the hypotheses. Discussion focuses on the importance of the experience of autonomous motivation for teaching for teachers and students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivational profiles from a self-determination perspective: The quality of motivation matters.

The present research complements extant variable-centered research that focused on the dimensions of autonomous and controlled motivation through adoption of a person-centered approach for identifying motivational profiles. Both in high school students (Study 1) and college students (Study 2), a cluster analysis revealed 4 motivational profiles: a good quality motivation group (i.e., high autonomous, low controlled); a poor quality motivation group (i.e., low autonomous, high controlled); a low quantity motivation group (i.e., low autonomous, low controlled); and a high quantity motivation group (i.e., high autonomous, high controlled). To compare the 4 groups, the authors derived predictions from qualitative and quantitative perspectives on motivation. Findings generally favored the qualitative perspective; compared with the other groups, the good quality motivation group displayed the most optimal learning pattern and scored highest on perceived need-supportive teaching. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Optimal learning in optimal contexts: The role of self-determination in education.

This literature review provides an overview of education studies that have been guided by self-determination theory (SDT). First, the authors examine studies that have assessed motivation based on SDT. Second, the authors detail research that has focussed on the linkages between motivation types and students' behavioural, affective, and cognitive outcomes. Third, the authors present studies on how learning contexts (parents, teachers) contribute to students' motivational resources. The authors conclude that the motivation types proposed by SDT are important for understanding how students thrive and succeed at school. The authors also highlight the significant role played by teachers and parents in the development of student motivation. The authors conclude with a summary of the benefits of self-motivation for learning and offer some recommendations for the field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attending to the exploration side of infant attachment: Contributions from self-determination theory.

Understanding the intergenerational transmission of attachment patterns has been a main focus of attachment research for many years. Most of the empirical work conducted on this question has addressed maternal sensitivity to infants’ attachment needs. Given that security of attachment is defined as an attachment/exploration balance, some researchers have stressed the need to explore maternal behaviours in the context of infant exploration. The authors propose that self-determination theory (SDT) could contribute to attachment work in this respect given that it has clearly operationalized parental exploration-related behaviours and has related them to numerous child outcomes. This article highlights conceptual, empirical, and methodological parallels that can be drawn between SDT and attachment theory, thus suggesting that they could be complementary on many levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Facilitating autonomous motivation for smoking cessation.

Physicians used either an autonomy-supportive or a controlling interpersonal style to counsel smokers based on National Cancer Institute guidelines. Physician autonomy support was rated from audiotapes, and patients' perceived competence and autonomous motivation for quitting were self-reported on questionnaires. Validated point prevalences for 6, 12, and 30 months and for continuous cessation were examined. The intervention did not have a direct effect on quit rates; however, structural equation modeling supported the self-determination process model of smoking cessation. The model indicated that the autonomy-supportive intervention was rated as more autonomy supportive, that rated autonomy support predicted autonomous motivation, and that autonomous motivation predicted cessation at all points in time. Perceived competence contributed independent variance to cessation only at 6 months. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Traitement de l'obésité: Soutenir l'individu dans l'appropriation de sa démarche.

Obesity is a serious and prevalent health problem that has numerous negative consequences (World Health Organisation, 1998). Body image dissatisfaction has been recognised as an important psychosocial correlate of obesity. Confronted with the thin-ideal model promoted by our society, most overweight or obese women are preoccupied with their body and want to lose excess weight in order to reduce the gap between their actual and desired weight. They also strive to attain this thin-ideal but unreachable model. Although, the underpinnings of obesity are quite clear (i.e., a discrepancy between energy intake and energy expenditure) its treatment is far more complicated. Treatments of obesity, relying essentially on reducing calorie intake while increasing physical activity, seem to be effective in terms of initial weight loss but are often ineffective in terms of long-term maintenance. It is important to identify the potential psychosocial factors that might be involved in the explanation of maintenance failure. This article, discusses obesity and reviews the traditional treatments and their efficacy. The article outlines, based on Self-Determination Theory (SDT), a clinical conceptualisation of maintenance failure. Self-determination has been widely used as a theoretical framework for understanding behavioural change. Recently, empirical findings have supported the relevance of SDT in the comprehension of weight problems. Pelletier and his colleagues (2004) have shown that self-determination is negatively associated with the endorsement of sociocultural pressures to be thin, body dissatisfaction and bulimic symptoms. In addition, they demonstrated that women presenting a self-determined regulation of their alimentation (as compared to women whose regulation is not self-determined) are more preoccupied with the quality of their food than with its quantity, perceive themselves as self-efficient in the regulation their alimentation, engage in more healthful eating behaviours and manifest better psychological functioning. Concurrently, some studies have shown that self-determination is linked to treatment adherence, quantity of weight loss and maintenance. These results clearly indicate the importance of relying not only on the intensity of motivation but also on examining the nature of that motivation in order to understand weight loss and maintenance. Moreover, the distinction between intensity and nature of motivation must be taken into account in our clinical explanation of maintenance failures. Furthermore, although autonomy-support is an essential component of SDT, up until now studies on SDT have been conducted in intensive weight loss programs, programs that are not optimizing autonomy-support. This situation shows an important gap between theory and practice. In reference to a new paradigm of weight management (health at every size approach), our article encourages the development of interventions that will promote autonomy-support and suggests a more extensive participation of psychologists in the development and the empirical validation of such interventions. We conclude with some guidelines to promote autonomy-support in weight management interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivational “spill-over” during weight control: Increased self-determination and exercise intrinsic motivation predict eating self-regulation.

Objective: Successful weight management relies on at least two health behaviors, eating and exercise. However, little is known about their interaction on a motivational and behavioral level. Based on the Hierarchical Model of Motivation the authors examined whether exercise-specific motivation can transfer to eating regulation during a lifestyle weight control program. The authors further investigated whether general, treatment-related, and exercise motivation underlie the relation between increased exercise and improved eating regulation. Design: Overweight/obese women participated in a 1-year randomized controlled trial (N = 239). The intervention focused on promoting physical activity and internal motivation for exercise and weight loss, following Self-Determination Theory. The control group received general health education. Main Outcome Measures: General and exercise specific self-determination, eating self-regulation variables, and physical activity behavior. Results: General self-determination and more autonomous exercise motivation predicted eating self-regulation over 12 months. Additionally, general and exercise self-determination fully mediated the relation between physical activity and eating self-regulation. Conclusion: Increased general self-determination and exercise motivation seem to facilitate improvements in eating self-regulation during weight control in women. These motivational mechanisms also underlie the relationship between improvements in exercise behavior and eating regulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Autonomous, controlled, and amotivated types of academic motivation: A person-oriented analysis.

The authors investigated students' profiles regarding autonomous, controlled, and amotivated regulation and tested whether profile groups differed on some academic adjustment outcomes. Studies 1 and 2 performed on high school students revealed 3 profiles: (a) students with high levels of both controlled motivation and amotivation but low levels of autonomous motivation, (b) students with high levels of both controlled and autonomous motivation but low levels of amotivation, and (c) students with moderate levels of both autonomous and controlled motivations but low levels of amotivation. These first 2 studies revealed that students in the high autonomous/high controlled group reported the highest degree of academic adjustment. Study 3 performed on college students revealed 3 profiles: (a) students with high levels of autonomous motivations but low levels of both controlled motivation and amotivation, (b) students with high levels of both autonomous and controlled motivation but low levels of amotivation, and (c) students with low to moderate levels of the various motivational components. Study 3 indicated that students in the autonomous group were more persistent than students in the other groups. Results are discussed in light of self-determination theory (E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan, 1985). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The support of autonomy and the control of behavior.

In this article we suggest that events and contexts relevant to the initiation and regulation of intentional behavior (i.e., to promote choice) or to control behavior (i.e., to pressure one toward specific outcomes). Research herein reviewed indicates that this distinction is relevant to specific external events and to general interpersonal contexts as well as to specific internal events and to general personality orientations. The research review details those contextual and person factors that tend to promote autonomy and those that tend to control and shows that autonomy support has generally been associated with more intrinsic motivation, greater interest, less pressure and tension, more creativity, more cognitive flexibility, better conceptual learning, a more positive emotional tone, higher self-esteem, more trust, greater persistence of behavior change, and better physical and psychological health than has control. Also, these results have converged across different assessment procedues, different research methods, and different subject populations. On the basis of these results, we present an organismic perspective in which we argue that the regulation of intentional behavior varies along a continuum from autonomous (i.e., self-determined) to controlled. The relation of this organismic perspective to historical developments in empirical psychology is discussed, with a particular emphasis on its implications for the study of social psychology and personality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Promoting self-determined motivation for exercise in cardiac rehabilitation: The role of autonomy support.

Objective: Using self-determination theory (SDT), we examined relationships between cardiac rehabilitation (CR) participants’ perceived autonomy support, motivation for exercise, and exercise behavior. Research Method/Design: Male CR outpatients (N = 53; Mage = 62.83 ± 10.78 years). The design was correlational (cross-sectional and prospective), examining relationships between perceived autonomy support and motivation for exercise at Week 4 of CR participation as well as motivation and CR attendance and other indicators of exercise behavior (frequency, duration, total exercise time) at a 1-week follow-up, 10 weeks later. Results: Perceived autonomy support was correlated with self-determined motivation, r(53) = .32, p r(53) = .34, p R2 = .27; β = .52, p