Psychological separation, attachment security, vocational self-concept crystallization, and career indecision: A structural equation analysis.

Structural equation modeling was used to test theoretically based models in which psychological separation and attachment security variables were related to career indecision and those relations were mediated through vocational self-concept crystallization. In contrast to previous studies, which have found either weak or no support for a relation between separation or attachment security variables and career indecision, results based on a sample of 350 college students indicated that some components of separation and attachment security did relate to career indecision in a theoretically supportable direction. Results also revealed that regardless of whether global or component career indecision measures were used, separation and attachment security effects on indecision were at least partially mediated through vocational self-concept crystallization. The strongest mediated relations were observed for the effects of attachment anxiety and maternal separation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A self-determination theory approach to psychotherapy: The motivational basis for effective change.

The application of self-determination theory (SDT) to psychotherapy is particularly relevant because a central task of therapy is to support the client to autonomously explore, identify, initiate, and sustain a process of change. In this article, the authors discuss the experimental work, field studies, and clinical trials representing the application of SDT to the domain of psychotherapy. Evidence supports the importance of client autonomy for the attainment and maintenance of treatment outcomes. In addition, intervention studies suggest that therapist autonomy support enhances the likelihood that treatment gains will be achieved and maintained. The authors discuss some of the processes involved in enhancing autonomy, including the role of awareness, the importance of exploring and challenging introjects and external regulations, attention to need-related goal contents, and therapist attitudes required for a therapy approach that is process- rather than outcome-focused. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of need fulfillment in relationship functioning and well-being: A self-determination theory perspective.

Self-determination theory posits 3 basic psychological needs: autonomy (feeling uncoerced in one's actions), competence (feeling capable), and relatedness (feeling connected to others). Optimal well-being results when these needs are satisfied, though this research has traditionally focused on individual well-being outcomes (e.g., E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan, 2000). Three studies examined the role of need fulfillment in relationship functioning and well-being. Study 1 found that fulfillment of each need individually predicted both individual and relationship well-being, with relatedness being the strongest unique predictor of relationship outcomes. Study 2 found that both partners' need fulfillment uniquely predicted one's own relationship functioning and well-being. Finally, in Study 3, the authors used a diary recording procedure and tested a model in which the association between need fulfillment and relationship quality was mediated by relationship motivation. Those who experienced greater need fulfillment enjoyed better postdisagreement relationship quality primarily because of their tendency to have more intrinsic or autonomous reasons for being in their relationship. (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)     

A self-determination theory perspective on parenting.

This article describes research on parenting that supports children's need for autonomy. First, the authors define parental autonomy support and distinguish it from permissiveness or independence promotion. The authors also define psychologically controlling parenting and distinguish it from behavioral control (structure). Second, the authors present studies examining how parental autonomy support promotes healthy development. Indeed, clear and consistent positive effects arise from different types of studies, conducted with children of various ages. Parent observation studies suggest that parental autonomy support is associated with infants' motivation and toddlers' internalization. Parent interview studies reveal that an autonomy-supportive parental attitude relates to children's adjustment at school. Children self-report studies demonstrate a clear link between perceptions of parental autonomy support and psychosocial functioning amongst adolescents. Third, the correlates and precursors of parental psychological control and autonomy support are presented, with a special focus on parents' trust in their children's ability to develop in an autonomous manner. Finally, ideas for future research are suggested. Although self-determination theory is not strictly a developmental theory, it seems highly pertinent to the socialization of children, their internalization and development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Students' motivational profiles and achievement outcomes in physical education: A self-determination perspective.

Previous studies in education have inspected the relations between students' autonomous versus controlled motivation and relevant outcomes. In most of those studies a global index of self-determined motivation was created. The purpose of this article was to examine (a) how the different types of motivation proposed by Self-Determination Theory combine into distinct profiles as identified by cluster analysis and (b) the links between those profiles and objective criteria of achievement. In Study 1, motivation toward physical education was assessed at the beginning of a 10-week gymnastics teaching cycle, and performance was assessed at the end of the cycle among a sample of high school students (N=210). Study 2 (N=215) extended Study 1 by controlling students' initial performance, measuring the effort they exerted and recording their grades. Cluster analyses revealed three motivational profiles: self-determined, non-self-determined, and moderate levels of both types of motivation. Path analysis showed that the self-determined profile was related to the highest achievement. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for the assessment of students' motivation and the consequences of motivational profiles for educational outcomes. (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)     

Wanting, having, and needing: Integrating motive disposition theory and self-determination theory.

Four studies explored the motivational and experiential dynamics of psychological needs, applying both self-determination theory and motive disposition theory. In all 4 studies, motive dispositions toward achievement and affiliation (“wanting” particular experiences) predicted corresponding feelings of competence and relatedness (“having” those experiences). Competence and relatedness in turn predicted well-being, again indicating that these 2 experiences may really be “needed.” Illuminating how wanting gets to having, in Studies 2 and 3, participants reported greater self-concordance for motive-congruent goals, which, in longitudinal Study 3, predicted greater attainment of those goals and thus enhanced well-being. Study 4 replicated selected earlier results using an implicit as well as an explicit motive disposition measure. Supporting the presumed universality of competence and relatedness needs, in no studies did motive dispositions moderate the effects of corresponding need-satisfaction on well-being. Discussion focuses on a “sequential process” model of psychological needs that views needs as both motives that instigate and outcomes that reward behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conscious and nonconscious processes: Implications for self-determination theory.

According to Bargh's Auto-Motive model (Bargh, 1990, 1997a, 1997b; Bargh & Chartrand, 1999), automatic motivational processes are those that are consistently and frequently engaged when environmental cues and contexts similar to that of the past arise. For example, achievement and affiliation have been primed and have been shown to affect behaviour and perceptions in ways similar to conscious activation (e.g., Lakin & Chartrand, 2003). Emerging evidence now suggest that motivational processes related to self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000), such as intrinsic and extrinsic motivation can be nonconsciously primed and then influence perceptions and behaviours (e.g., Burton, Lydon, D'Alessandro, & Koestner, 2006; Levesque & Pelletier, 2003; Ratelle, Baldwin, & Vallerand, 2005). These nonconscious effects are shown to parallel the conscious effects of motivational processes. These findings challenge researchers interested in SDT and other humanistic theories to think about whether all behaviours and forms of regulation can be nonconsciously determined. In the present paper, the authors argue that automatic nonconscious processes are not always maladaptive and that autonomous (self-determined) as well as controlled forms of motivation can be automatically and nonconsciously activated. However, the authors also argue that conscious processes are essential to our daily experiences and necessary to modulate the manifestation and expression of nonconscious processes that are negative or detrimental to growth or well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"An examination of the relations among career subscales": Correction to Fuqua and Newman (1989).

Reports an error in "An examination of the relations among career subscales" by Dale R. Fuqua and Jody L. Newman (Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1989[Oct], Vol 36[4], 487-491). It was incorrectly reported that a principal-components analysis with varimax rotation was performed. In fact, principal-axis factoring with varimax rotation was performed, and it is the results of this analysis that are reported in Table 2 of the article. In principal-axis factoring communalities are used on the main diagonal of the correlation matrix. Initially, these communalities are equal to the squared multiple correlation of the variable with the other variables in the set. An iteration procedure is used to improve these initial estimates of communalities. Another point of clarification is that in the principal-axis factoring reported in Table 2, we used listwise deletion of missing data, whereas we calculated the correlations reported in Table 1 by using pairwise deletion of missing data. The effect of these different procedures is that the factor analysis (N = 98) was based on a slightly different correlation matrix that the one reported in Table 1, and consequently, Table 2 cannot be exactly reproduced by factoring the correlations reported in Table 1. Also, the sign of the correlation of the Career Decision Profile Choice-Work Importance (row 13) and Decidedness (column 7) subscales (.37) is given as positive in Table 1, whereas it was in fact negative. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1990-03287-001.) We examined 13 career subscales contained in 4 measures of career indecision to determine how different measures relate to one another and how many dimensions may exist across these different instruments. Ss completed career instruments and measures of state and trait anxiety, which were included to aid in the interpretation of factors. Correlations provide some evidence of the convergent validity of the subscales. A factor analysis yielded a three-factor solution accounting for 55.9% of the variance. The first and most general factor was interpreted as a component that represented information about occupations and self. The second factor was interpreted as a more indecisive component and was positively correlated with anxiety. The third factor seemed to be an affective comfort component but failed to relate to anxiety as was expected. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Basic need satisfaction and identity formation: Bridging self-determination theory and process-oriented identity research.

The fulfillment of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness as postulated within self-determination theory was hypothesized to play an energizing role in identity formation, conceptualized as multiple dimensions of exploration and commitment. Two studies among high school and college students (N = 714) were conducted to investigate (a) the cross-sectional relationships between need satisfaction and the identity dimensions and (b) the direction of effects using cross-lagged analyses. Three competing longitudinal models were tested: a need satisfaction main-effects model, an identity main-effects model, and a reciprocal effects model. All 3 needs had meaningful relationships with the identity dimensions, and, although there was a predominance of paths from the needs to the identity dimensions, the reciprocal effects model received most support. Further, identity statuses (representing multivariate combinations of the identity dimensions) were meaningfully related to satisfaction of the 3 needs, with identity achievement scoring highest on all 3 indices of need satisfaction. Suggestions for future research and counseling implications are discussed. (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)     

Special issue on self-determination theory: A Canadian contribution.

A number of theories have been proposed to account for the role of motivation in human functioning. Amongst these theories, self-determination theory (e.g., Deci & Ryan, 1985) has been especially influential. Canadian researchers have played a key role in the development of this important theory. The collection of articles in this special issue concern self-determination theory. Following an introductory article by Deci and Ryan, a total of nine articles appear. These articles review research in a variety of contexts on various important themes, such as work, education, relationships, parenting, health, environmental issues, and psychotherapy. Finally, a concluding article provides some reflection on these articles and proposes directions for future research. As such, this special issue celebrates the role that Canadian researchers have played, and continue to play, in testing and refining this major motivation theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

College students’ social justice interest and commitment: A social-cognitive perspective.

In this study, the authors examined the degree to which social-cognitive career theory (SCCT; R. W. Lent, S. D. Brown, & G. Hackett, 1994) explained the development of social justice interest and commitment. Data from 274 college students and latent variable path modeling were used to test theoretically and empirically derived SCCT direct and indirect effects structural models. The direct effects model estimated the direct effect of social supports and barriers on social justice commitment and the indirect effects model estimated the effect of social supports and barriers indirectly through self-efficacy. Overall, the present findings supported the use of SCCT within the social justice domain, as social justice self-efficacy and outcome expectations were useful in explaining the development of college students’ social justice interest and commitment. The present findings supported the indirect effects model of social justice interest and commitment over the direct effects model. Finally, unique to prior tests of SCCT in vocational and academic domains, social supports and barriers exhibited an indirect effect on commitment through outcome expectations. Study limitations, future directions for research, and implications for facilitating college students’ social justice interest and commitment are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Existential behaviorism: A transactionalistic approach to self-determination.

Existential behaviorism is a transactionalistic approach to the free will-determinism controversy in psychology. This relativistic view gives equal importance to both schools, advocating that self-determination involves the free choice of shaping one's own destiny using, perhaps, a knowledge of cause and effect principles of behavior. (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)     

The study of compensation systems through the lens of self-determination theory: Reconciling 35 years of debate.

Although compensation specialists generally argue for incentive systems that link rewards to performance, self-determination theory argues that such contingent rewards can have detrimental effects on autonomous motivation. The authors present a model of the motivational effects of compensation systems that attempts to reconcile the self-determination theory view and the literature on compensation. This model evaluates how compensation system characteristics, such as the amount and variability of pay, can influence the satisfaction of the needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, which in turn influence autonomous work motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting the scholarly activity of counseling psychology students: A refinement and extension.

J. H. Kahn and N. A. Scott's (1997) model of scholarly activity was refined by integrating the mentoring relationship as an element of the research training environment and research outcome expectations as an additional mediator, as guided by social-cognitive career theory (SCCT). A national survey of 149 counseling psychology students was used to test the refined model. Results supported an indirect effect of the research training environment on scholarly activity through research interest and research self-efficacy; the student's relationship with his or her mentor did not predict these outcomes. In accord with SCCT, research self-efficacy and research outcome expectations mediated the relationships between students' investigative interests and perceptions of the research training environment (predictors) on research interest and scholarly activity (criteria). This model extends Kahn and Scott's work and suggests the value of integrating SCCT into models of student scholarly activity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Planting a tree while envisioning the forest--The recursive relation between theory and research: Reply to Blustein (2003).

In his comments regarding D. M. Tokar, J. R. Withrow, R. J. Hall, and B. Moradi's (see record 2002-08430-002) article, "Psychological Separation, Attachment Security, Vocational Self-Concept Crystallization, and Career Indecision: A Structural Equation Analysis," D. L. Blustein (see record 2002-08430-003) offered several useful suggestions for future research in the area of relationship variables and career development and also raised several concerns about Tokar et al's rationale for and use of structural equation modeling in testing their models. In this reply, the authors note points of agreement with Blustein and respond to comments with which they disagree. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)