Motivational Factors and Self-determination Theory

 Despite the consensus among experts on the field (e.g.,Meyer &Turner, 2006) that both affective and motivational factors may beclosely related, there is surprisingly little empirical research abouttheir joint impact on the educational context. However, they areessential in teaching-learning processes and in improving academicperformance (Meyer & Turner, 2006). One of the most relevanttheoretical frameworks for explaining motivational processes in theschool and sports environment is the Self-determination Theory(SDT;Deci & Ryan, 1985). The SDT proposes that motivation occurs ina continuum of self-determination that ranges from one end, intrinsiclation represents behaviors performed to avoid guiltand embarrassment or to obtain feelings of personal worth. External regulation encourages the individual to perform an activity in acontrolled manner by a system of rewards or punishments (coercion).Finally, amotivation refers to the lack of motivation. This situation occurs when people experience feelings of incompetence and lackof control (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2002). Amotivated behaviors are notrelated to desired actions and consequences. At the same time, the SDT considers that contextual and socialfactors, such as the climate generated by the teacher, influence thetype of students’ motivation (Deci & Ryan, 1985). This contextualand social influence is mediated by students’ perceptions of thesatisfaction of three basic psychological needs: competence, autonomy, and relatedness. The need for competence refers to theexperience of behavior as effectively enacted. The need for autonomyrefers to the experience of behavior as volitional and reflectivelyself-endorsed. Relatedness refers to the need to feel belongingnessand connectedness with others (e.g.,Niemiec & Ryan, 2009). Manyresearchers have explored the effects of the motivational climateand the autonomy-supportive versus controlling influences on basicpsychological needs (e.g.,Hodge & Gucciardi, 2015;Ntoumanis, 2001;Standage, Duda, & Ntoumanis, 2003, 2006). For instance, masteryclimates are characterized by a context where students perceivethat personal improvement and learning are rewarded, while inego climates students perceive that outstanding performancesare rewarded. Research has shown that mastery climates promotePE studentss’ feelings of competence, autonomy, and relatedness(Méndez-Giménez, Fernández-Río, & Cecchini, 2016;Ntoumanis,2001;Standage et al., 2003). According to SDT, supports forcompetence, relatedness, and autonomy facilitate intentionalmotivation, and furthermore, that support for autonomy in particularwill facilitate that motivated action is being self-determined (ratherthan controlled). Several studies found that greater satisfaction ofthese three needs was associated to self-determined motivation,both in the sport context (e.g.,Cecchini, Fernández-Río, & Méndez-Giménez, 2014) and PE (Ntoumanis, 2005;Standage et al., 2006).Lastly, the SDT postulates that different types of motivationlead to various consequences at the cognitive, emotional, andbehavioral levels. In this way, more self-determined forms ofmotivation (e.g., intrinsic motivation and identified regulation)will produce more adaptive consequences, such as persistence ormore fun in sportive activities and PE, while less self-determinedforms of motivation (e.g., external regulation and amotivation)will result in less adaptive consequences, such as boredom ordesertion (Hagger, Chatzisarantis, Culverhouse, & Biddle, 2003;Méndez-Giménez et al., 2016;Ntoumanis, 2001). Several studieshave empirically verified this postulate by showing that more self-determined students report stronger intentions to engage in PA, aremore likely to participate in PE classes, and more physically activeduring their leisure time (Hagger et al., 2003;Hein, Müür, & Koka,2004;Ntoumanis, 2005)