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Adopting a self-determination theory perspective, this 3-wave longitudinal study explores the role of perfectionism in goal pursuit and the experience of depressive symptoms. The findings highlight the role of goal-related autonomy in mediating the opposite effects of self-critical and personal standards perfectionism on goal progress and depressive symptoms over the course of an academic year. The results suggest a way of understanding the pathway to depressive symptoms and poor goal progress in perfectionists. They point to a number of implications for clinical practice when working with self-critical perfectionists. Specifically, they indicate that interventions aimed at promoting autonomous motivation, may not only bolster goal progress but also act as a protective factor against depressive symptoms. Together, the results indicate that autonomous motivation is central to goal progress and suggest that low goal-related autonomy can be linked to negative outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Parents and teachers play an important role in stimulating student motivation. The aim of this study was to examine if both parent and teacher enthusiasm could predict intrinsic motivation toward S...

Retirement from competitive sports significantly influences former athletes’ well-being. We propose that disengaging from the former athletic career is a crucial factor in retired athletes’ adaptation. Using the theoretical framework of Self-Determination Theory (SDT) we propose that sport motivation at the career peak and motivation for retirement are important determinants of athletes’ disengagement progress from a terminated athletic career. We also seek to examine how motivation for retirement and disengagement progress predict retired athletes’ well-being. Using a mixed-retrospective/prospective longitudinal design we followed 158 government-supported elite athletes who had recently retired from an athletic career. In two online surveys administered 1.5 years apart, retired athletes reported on motivation, disengagement, and well-being. Results suggested that SDT motivation factors are important predictors for elite athletes career disengagement and well-being in retirement. The clinical implications of these findings for athletic career transition and support programs are discussed.

Mental health problems are becoming increasingly prevalent across college campuses. Past research has found that negative affect and frustration of basic psychological needs contribute to the development of depressive symptoms, but there is limited research which compares whether these are antecedents or concomitants of depressive symptoms. The present set of studies aimed to distinguish the differential associations of affect and need frustration on depressive symptoms. Students (Nstudy1 = 379; Nstudy2 = 235) completed measures on negative affect, need frustration (e.g., relatedness, competence, and autonomy), and depressive symptoms over an academic year and during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In both samples, fully cross-lagged path models were used to examine the relation between need frustration, negative affect, and depressive symptoms over time. Across both studies, basic psychological need frustration was the only consistent predictor of both negative affect and depressive symptoms over time, suggesting that need frustration is an antecedent of depressive symptoms over time, and especially during vulnerable time periods. Additionally, in Study 2, reports from close others confirm that need frustration is the largest indicator of depressive presentation in students. These results highlight the relative importance of basic psychological need frustration in predicting depressive symptoms in university students.

Although considerable research has examined the traits and features involved in living a good life (Baumeister et al. in J Posit Psychol 8(6):505–516, 2013; Ryan et al. in Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness, Guilford Press, 2006; Wong in Can Psychol/Psychol Can 52(2):69–81, 2011), little research has examined personal philosophies of the good life and the motivational outcomes associated with these views. Through a prospective longitudinal study across one academic year, we examined whether perceiving oneself to be living coherently with personal conceptions of the good life was associated with greater autonomous goal motivation and, subsequently, goal progress and greater subjective well-being (SWB) over time. We hypothesize that perceiving oneself as living coherently in terms of one’s own philosophy of flourishing relates to greater volition, goal progress and happiness. Our results suggest that when individuals assess themselves as following their own philosophy of the good life, they tend to experience greater autonomous motivation, goal progress and SWB. Implications for personality coherence and Self-Determination Theory are discussed.

Here, we integrate two influential psychological theories: social-identity theory and self-determination theory. Whereas social-identity theory considers how social identities impact the self, self-determination theory elucidates the psychological necessity of feeling related, competent, and autonomous. In this article, we outline and provide justification for a unified theoretical framework that considers how perceptions of personal relatedness, competence, and autonomy are influenced by perceptions that one’s social group is related, competent, and autonomous.

Objectives The present study investigated the benefits of matching personality traits with goal type (i.e., agentic or communal) for goal progress. Autonomous motivation was examined as a mediator. Methods A multi-wave prospective longitudinal design was employed to track the progress that 935 university students made in their personal goal pursuits over an academic year. Participants set three personal goals at baseline and completed measures of personality and goal motivation. Participants' goals were coded as being either agentic or communal. Goal progress was assessed mid-year (T2) and at the end of the academic year (T3). Goal motivation was reassessed mid-year (T2). Results Conscientiousness was significantly related to making better progress on agentic, but not communal, goals. Conversely, Extraversion was related to making communal, but not agentic, goal progress. These trait-goal matching effects on progress were partially mediated by goal-specific motivation, suggesting that the selection of goals that matched one's traits resulted in higher autonomous motivation at the start of the academic year. Conclusions The selection of trait concordant personal goals is associated with autonomous goal motivation and greater goal progress. This research integrates Self-Determination Theory with trait theories of personality to enhance our understanding of variations in goal success.

Previous research has shown unique benefits associated with both providing and receiving autonomy-support among same-sex friends (Deci et al. 2006). The present research examined the provision and receipt of two types of goal support from the viewpoints of the two partners in heterosexual couples (n = 247 Hungarian couples). The level of autonomy and directive support that each partner delivered and received in relation to vicarious goals (i.e., goals that partners have for one another) was assessed. Autonomy support from the partner was found to be consistently and positively associated with relationship satisfaction, and this pattern of results was found whether we considered perceived autonomy support from the partner or actual partner report of support given. In addition, providing autonomy support to one’s partner was found to positively relate to relationship satisfaction over and above the effects of receiving support. Overall, directive support was found to be either unrelated or negatively related to relationship satisfaction, suggesting that it can actually backfire and impair satisfaction. Overall, results underscore the relational benefits of supporting vicarious goals in an autonomous rather than directive manner. These findings have implications regarding the pursuit of goals in the context of romantic relationships.

The positive role of autonomous motivation in personal goal pursuit has been robustly established in Self-Determination Theory research. Recent work has linked individual differences in trait selfcontrol to motivation quality, showing that higher self-control is associated with greater autonomous motivation (Converse, Juarez & Hennecke, 2018). The present investigation built on this research to test the association longitudinally in the context of long-term personal goal pursuit. In a prospective longitudinal study with college students, we tested whether trait self-control predicts increased autonomous goal motivation and decreased controlled motivation over time. Participants set three personal goals they planned to pursue for the duration of the academic year and reported on their goal motivation, self-control and Big Five personality traits. Results showed that trait self-control predicted increased autonomous motivation and decreased controlled motivation over the academic year, even after controlling for the Big Five. These findings contribute to the emerging understanding of the role of personality factors in determining motivation.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many individuals missed out on important life events, but it was also a chance for some to engage with new interests or values. This research examined how individuals higher in perfectionism experienced missed and gained events during the pandemic, and how their perceptions of these events influenced their mental health. University students (N = 350) were surveyed in September 2020, assessing perfectionism, depression, missed/gained events, and need satisfaction related to these events, and then followed up in December. A combined missed and gained event score was created to better understand overall need satisfaction from these changes. Individuals higher in self-critical perfectionism were more likely to experience need dissatisfaction overall and this partially explained why these individuals experienced more depressive symptoms over time during the pandemic. Conversely, those higher in personal standards perfectionism experienced more need satisfaction overall and this was related to reduced depressive symptoms. Results suggest that individuals higher in self-critical perfectionism were less flexible when things did not go according to their plan. This may be one reason these individuals had a more difficult time coping during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Using hypothetical scenarios of rule-breaking situations, this study contrasted two behavioral limitation (BLIMIT) strategies that differ in terms of their connection to the transgression-induced problem (logical consequences vs. mild punishments, compared to no BLIMIT). A total of 215 children (M age = 10.42) and their mothers rated the effectiveness and acceptability of these strategies, when preceded by different discipline climates (autonomy-supportive [AS] vs. controlling). Mothers rated logical consequences as the most effective and acceptable strategy in both climates and perceived BLIMIT strategies more positively in AS climates. A significant interaction also revealed that all differences between BLIMIT strategies were accentuated in AS climates. Children believed that logical consequences and mild punishments were equally effective and more effective than no BLIMIT, but they rated logical consequences as more acceptable. Children also perceived BLIMIT strategies more positively in AS climates. However, for children, climates did not moderate the effect of BLIMIT strategies.

Previous studies have shown that self-critical and personal standards forms of perfectionism are associated with progress on personal goals in opposite ways. The present study used a 5-wave prospective longitudinal design to examine what motivational factors account for the finding that self-critical perfectionism has been reliably associated with poor goal progress whereas personal standard perfectionism has been associated with good progress. Specifically, we adopted a self-determination theory perspective to examine the role of autonomy in mediating the effects of perfectionism. Our results replicated previous findings linking the two forms of perfectionism with opposite patterns of goal progress. Importantly, the results suggested that the negative goal effects of self-critical perfectionism are mediated by lower levels of autonomous goal motivation. The results also demonstrated links from personal standards perfectionism to greater autonomous goal motivation. Interestingly, the effects of self-critical perfectionism on goal progress appeared to be dynamic over time and implicated affective mechanisms. The results of the investigation point to the value of adopting a self-determination theory perspective to understand perfectionism.

Two studies examined parental support of young adults’ personal goals. Study 1 examined 1189 personal goals reported by 238 young adults and showed that it was common for emerging adults to receive support from their parents as they pursued their personal goals, particularly important and demanding goals. Relying on parents was unrelated to the Big 5 traits, but was linked with developmental factors – younger age, autonomy supportive family environment, and higher identity development but less intimacy development. Study 2 used a prospective, longitudinal design (n = 932) to show that goal support from parents was significantly associated with better well-being across the school year, as long as the support was delivered in an autonomy supportive fashion (e.g., empathic and encouraging volitional functioning). Goal support from peers was unrelated to well-being. Mediational analyses showed that parental autonomy support indirectly influenced young adults’ subjective well-being over the year by enhancing their progress on personal goals and boosting their sense of personal autonomy in their everyday lives. These studies highlight that the psychological impacts of goal support depend on both the source and type of support that is received

In this chapter, the authors present a much-needed quantitative study that examines the individual and interactive effects of individual freedom and national freedom on well-being among the elderly. The study analyzes cross-country data from World Values Survey and Freedom House. The result shows that personal freedom does not benefit well-being in a country that is not free. The authors demonstrate that it is possible to experience individual freedom in an unfree country, or conversely, to lack personal freedom in a free country. The authors further highlight the importance of ensuring the political and civil liberties of nations to promote happiness even if one has secured personal freedom.

Objective Action crises describe the intrapsychic conflicts individuals experience when they feel torn between further goal pursuit and goal disengagement. The present investigation introduces autonomous and controlled motivation as independent predictors of action crisis severity, beyond known personality-level predictors (action orientation) and novel personality-level predictors (Neuroticism and Conscientiousness). Method Using a multi-wave prospective longitudinal design and multilevel modeling (MLM), we followed students pursuing three personal goals across an academic semester (N = 425 undergraduates; 76% female; 57% Caucasian; Mage = 20.2, SD = 2.3). In two follow-up surveys, participants reported on the severity of their action crises, goal progress, and symptoms of depression. Results Results suggest that autonomous motivation shields individuals from experiencing action crises, whereas controlled motivation represents a risk factor for developing action crises beyond personality-level predictors. Furthermore, MLM revealed that autonomous motivation is a significant predictor of action crisis severity at both the within- and between-person levels of analysis. Action crises mediate both the relationship between autonomous motivation and goal progress, and the relationship between controlled motivation and symptoms of depression. Conclusions The implications of these findings for the prevention of action crises and motivation research are discussed.

Self-criticism has been shown to be a vulnerability factor that can lead to and maintain depression. We examined the moderating effect of fear of receiving compassion from others on the positive association between self-criticism and depression. Self-report measures were administered to four separate samples (total N = 701) varying in age (students and community adults) and cultural context (Canada, England, and Portugal). Two different measures of self-criticism and of depression were administered to investigate the generalizability of results. Self-criticism, depression, and fear of compassion from others were positively related to one another in all samples. As predicted, fear of compassion from others exerted a moderating effect on the relationship between self-criticism and depression. Low fear of compassion from others weakened the depressogenic effect of self-criticism, while high fear of compassion from others exacerbated the effect. Thus, a self-critic's ability to be open and responsive to care and support from others protected against depression. The aggregate moderating effect across the four studies was of medium size (d + = .53) and highly significant, indicating a robust phenomenon. Implications for working with self-critical depressed patients are discussed.

Passions are strong motivational forces that influence the direction, intensity, and quality of long-term goal-pursuit. Passionate individuals thus have the potential to display high levels of perseverance of effort and consistency toward their interests – that is, to be gritty – with regard to the personal goals they set for themselves. The present research investigated whether passion in students was related to perseverance of effort and maintenance of interests toward the personal goals that students had set for themselves at the beginning of an academic semester. This study also investigated if the facets of grit were related to progress on personal goals, as well as to changes in subjective well-being and symptoms of depression over the semester in a sample of university students (N = 425). Results showed that harmonious passion was only positively associated with the facet of perseverance of effort. In contrast, obsessive passion was negatively associated with both perseverance and consistency of interests facets of grit. In turn, only perseverance of effort was associated with progress on personal goals and with changes in well-being over the semester. The implications of these findings for long-term goal pursuit in an educational setting are discussed in light of the passion and grit literatures.

Introduction The association of partner autonomy support with women's motivation for healthy eating, weight-related health behavior change, and psychological well-being has been largely overlooked. Results of 2 studies showed that the positive association between autonomy support and a variety of motivational and psychological outcomes was especially pronounced for women with high body mass index (BMI) (+1 SD) compared to low BMI (-1 SD). Method In Study 1, autonomy support was measured as male partners' report of their behavior in a cross-sectional design. In Study 2, autonomy support was measured as female participants' perceptions of their partners' behavior in a longitudinal home environment-based behavioral weight loss intervention. Results Study 1 showed that autonomy support from partners was associated with greater self-determined motivation for healthy eating and self-reported well-being among women with higher BMI. Study 2 showed that changes in partner autonomy support over 18 months of a home-based weight loss intervention were associated with increases in motivation for treatment and greater weight loss, especially for women who had higher baseline BMI. Discussion Both studies demonstrated that autonomy support was associated with adaptive functioning across weight status but that it was especially potent for women with higher BMI. This pattern of findings is explained in terms of the pressures women with higher BMI may feel about their weight-related behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record

Kasser and Ryan (1993,1996) have contrasted two types of life values: intrinsic aspirations, which include community contribution, building close relationships, and self-growth, and extrinsic aspirations, which include fame, wealth, and physical beauty. Prioritization of extrinsic relative to intrinsic aspirations has been related cross-sectionally to decreased well-being (Kasser, 2002). However, the influence of close others in the etiology of young adults' prioritization of extrinsic aspirations, and the prospective effects of aspirations on well-being, are not well understood. In a multiple-informant prospective study of 341 university students (mean age = 19.4; 64% Caucasian; 74% female), we examined the influence of friends' and family members' perfectionism on participants' aspirations, and the outcomes of prioritization of extrinsic aspirations. Having friends high in other-oriented perfectionism was significantly positively related to prioritization of extrinsic over intrinsic aspirations. Furthermore, living with friends amplified the effect. Last, prioritization of extrinsic aspirations at T1 was related to decreased subjective well-being and self-concordance for goals 3 months later. The study provides preliminary evidence for a relationship between friends' other-oriented perfectionism and students' orientation toward extrinsic aspirations, as well as negative prospective consequences of students' orientation to extrinsic aspirations.

The current study used a prospective design and the assessment of personal goals to examine the relation of self-critical and personal standards perfectionism to affective variation across days of the week. University students completed baseline measures of perfectionism and subsequently reported their nightly affect for seven consecutive days. Participants also listed four important personal goals for the academic year and rated their autonomous and controlled motivation for these goals. The expected pattern of affect variation across the week was obtained—highest positive affect on Saturday followed by a drop on Monday which continued through Thursday. The two forms of perfectionism were significantly related to daily affect on Monday, but in opposite ways, and these opposing patterns were mediated by differences in motivation for academic goals. Self-critical perfectionists felt highly controlled about their academic goals and responded negatively to the resumption of school on Monday. Personal standard perfectionists felt highly autonomous about their academic goals and responded positively to the return to school on Monday. The two forms of perfectionism were unrelated to affect experienced on Saturdays. The study suggests that personality and motivational factors can be used to understand affect variation from the weekend to the start of the week.

Autonomy and controlling support are generally viewed as being on the two extreme ends of a continuum and have been found to be negatively correlated with one another. Recent research and anecdotal evidence hint that controlling guidance (such as exemplified by “tiger parenting”) may not always be perceived and received negatively. We proposed that power distance moderates the endorsement of controlling strategies. We expected and found that in two studies, participants from Malaysia, a high power distance culture, perceived controlling strategies more positively than North Americans, and their endorsement of autonomy support was positively correlated with their endorsement of controlling support. There was no difference between North Americans and Malaysians in their endorsement of autonomy supportive strategies. The latter result supports self-determination theory’s contention that autonomy is universally important. The results suggest that for individuals who value power distance, autonomy and controlling practices are not necessarily seen as opposed, rather just alternate methods of providing support or guidance. In addition, we tested this hypothesis using power distance on an individual level in both cultures and again found the power distance influenced the endorsement of controlling strategies. This study highlights cross cultural and individual differences in acceptance and perceived benefits of controlling support.

The purpose of this research was to examine the role of self-construal on goal instrumentality in close friendships. Participants (105 female friend dyads, N = 210) were asked to set personal academic goals and were followed up over the course of a semester. Using the actor–partner interdependence model, results revealed that those with a high relational self-construal were more likely to perceive their friends to be instrumental to their goals. This in turn led to greater friendship commitment and closeness as well as greater goal progress over the course of the semester. Actor’s perception of goal instrumentality did not lead to friend’s goal progress but did have positive relational consequences. The results highlight the benefits of relying on others in self-regulation.

Two prospective studies examined the relations of autonomy support and directive support to goal internalization and goal persistence over a year. Study 1 examined the role of support and internalization in semester-long goals set by college students and whether the goals were reset in the following semester. Study 2 examined semester-long goals and long-term developmental goals. Study 1 showed that autonomy support was not only significantly associated with greater internalization and goal success in the fall semester, but it was also significantly associated with actually resetting and subsequently succeeding at goals that one had failed to reach. Study 2 showed that autonomy support was significantly associated with progress for short-term goals over the semester, whereas directive support was unrelated to progress. For long-term goals, autonomy support was significantly related to greater internalization of goals and to greater goal satisfaction, whereas directive support was significantly negatively related to these outcomes. These studies point to the beneficial effects of autonomy support on goal internalization and resilient persistence. The effects of directive support (null vs. negative) were moderated by the timeline of the goals.

Objective:Social support is believed to contribute to weight loss success, yet the type of support received is rarely assessed. To develop more effective weight loss interventions, examinations of the types of support that are associated with positive outcomes are needed. Self-Determination Theory suggests that support for an individual’s autonomy is beneficial and facilitates internalization of autonomous selfregulation. We examined whether autonomy support and directive forms of support were associated with weight loss outcomes in a larger randomized controlled trial.Method:Adults (N!201; 48.9"10.5 years; 78.1% women) participating in a weight loss trial were assessed at 0, 6, and 18 months. Autonomy support (AS), directive support, and autonomous self-regulation (ASR) were measured at 0 and 6 months and examined in relation to 18-month weight loss outcomes.Results:Baseline AS and ASR did not predict outcomes; however, AS and ASR at 6 months positively predicted 18-month weight losses (ps#.05), encouragement of healthy eating at 6 months was negatively related to 18-month weight losses (p#.01), and other forms of directive support were not associated with outcomes. Conclusions:Autonomy support predicted better weight loss outcomes while some forms of directive support hindered progress. Weight loss trials are needed to determine whether family members and friends can be trained to provide autonomy support and whether this is more effective than programs targeting more general or directive forms of support.

Research has shown that autonomy support has positive effects on academic development, but no study has examined how systemising cognitive orientation is related to important outcomes for science students, and how it may interact with autonomy support. This prospective investigation considered how systemising and support from teachers and parents influence motivation, self-efficacy and science performance of science students. Totally, two hundred and eighty eight high school students (143 females and 145 males) completed surveys at two times and records of their achievements were collected. Teachers autonomy support and systemising were significantly positively related to motivation, self-efficacy and achievement over time, while parental support for autonomy was not directly related to the outcomes. Finally, two significant interaction effects showed that the relation of parental autonomy support to motivation and self-efficacy was moderated by systemising. This is the first study to demonstrate that autonomy support may be especially helpful for individuals with an intrinsic disposition in a domain.

We argue that episodic memories have an active and directive function with respect to a number of relational outcomes. In line with self-determination theory, it is expected that the satisfaction of 3 needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness) in couple-related memories facilitates the quality of romantic relationships and their development. Results of 4 studies support this contention. Study 1 showed that need satisfaction in couple-related memories was associated with relationship quality, even after controlling for other important relational constructs. Study 2 underscored the context-dependent aspect of the directive function of episodic memories. Need satisfaction in couple-related memories was found to be associated with partner relationship quality but not with friendship quality, whereas need satisfaction in friend-related memories was associated with friendship quality but not with partner relationship quality. Study 3 showed that couple-related memories contributed independently to each partner's perceptions of relationship quality, that is, both the rememberer and the partner. Study 4 showed the long-term directive function of episodic memories. Need satisfaction in couple-related memories positively and negatively predicted increases in relationship quality and the likelihood of a breakup over a 1-year period, respectively. This directive function of memories was examined along with the self function of memories (self-enhancement, self-protection) and shown to be complementary. We also examined the stability of need satisfaction in couple-related memories over time and investigated this stability as a function of whether the partners had broken up or not over the year. Overall, the findings suggest that episodic memories play an important role in romantic relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)

Research on self-determination theory has established that the amount of autonomy support and control in a given situation can enhance or thwart intrinsic motivation. Meanwhile, research in social cognition has shown that people form relational schemas and that having schemas characterised by insecurity can compromise normative functioning. The present study examined how such insecurity, operationalized as attachment anxiety and avoidance, moderates the effects of priming an autonomy-supportive or controlling other on intrinsic motivation and persistence. Ninety participants were primed with either an autonomy-supportive or controlling authority figure and engaged in a novel picture-search task. Although individuals low in anxiety and avoidance responded to the primes as expected (decreasing intrinsic motivation and persisting less in the controlling-prime condition), participants high in anxiety and avoidance did not show the expected changes in intrinsic motivation in response to the primes, and participants high in anxiety responded to the controlling prime with increased persistence.

Three studies examined the relations of autonomy support and directive support to goal progress over 3 months. Autonomy support was defined in terms of empathic perspective-taking, whereas directive support was defined in terms of the provision of positive guidance. Results from Study 1 revealed that autonomy support between romantic partners was significantly positively related to goal progress over 3 months, and that the beneficial effect of autonomy support was mediated by enhanced autonomous goal motivation. Study 2 involved female friend dyads and extended the goal progress results to include both self-reports and reports by peers. Study 3 showed that autonomy support similarly promoted progress at vicarious goals. Across three studies, autonomy support was also significantly associated with improved relationship quality and subjective well-being. Directive support was marginally associated with better goal progress across the three studies and unrelated to relationship quality or well-being.

This study tested Belsky's determinants of parenting, namely maternal characteristics, child characteristics, and contextual issues, namely the mother's perception of the husband as a father, husband, and person. Three hundred and seventy-nine mothers first investigated by Sears, Maccoby, and Levin completed a standardised interview to assess their parenting attitudes and behaviours, as well as their five-year-old child's (202 boys, 177 girls) behaviours. Rejecting mothers had lower maternal self-esteem and higher academic expectations of their children, who showed less conscience and less similarity to the mother, and perceived their husbands as being colder towards the child. Furthermore, mothers with low self-esteem were more rejecting of girls with a difficult temperament, but less rejecting of boys with a difficult temperament. Controlling mothers were more educated and had higher academic expectations for their children, while their children were less likely to dominate their relationship, but only ...

Background. In many parts of the world, it is common for secondary school students to be involved in part-time employment. Research shows that working can have a negative impact on school engagement. However, the majority of studies have focused on the amount of time that students spend working rather than on the quality of work experience and its influence on school engagement. Aims. This study explored the relation of part-time work and school experiences to dropout intentions among secondary school and junior college students. The study was conceptualized from a self-determination theory perspective (Deci & Ryan, 2000). Sample. Participants were 3,248 students from rural and suburban schools in the greater region of Montreal, Canada. Method. Questionnaires were used to assess the number of hours worked, the extent to which work interfered with or facilitated school functioning, autonomy, competence, and relatedness experienced in the work and school domains. School performance and school dropout intentions were also assessed. Results. A curvilinear relation between work hours and dropout intentions was found, reflecting that part-time work began to be associated with higher dropout intentions only when students worked more than 7 hr per week. Analyses also showed that work–school interference was related to dropout intentions, and that this variable served to mediate the relation of employer autonomy support to dropout intentions. Conclusions. These results suggest that both the quantity and the quality of students’ part-time work experiences need to be considered when examining the relation of work to school engagement.

The purpose of the present research was to show that satisfaction of the psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness constitutes a basic component characterizing autobiographical memories. In Study 1, a coding scheme and a self-rating method for measuring need satisfaction in memories were developed and shown to be highly related to each other. Across 3 studies using graduate and undergraduate students (Study 1: N=244; Study 2: N=309; Study 3: N=159), need satisfaction was found to be moderately associated with well-being measures, over and above several other memory components usually assessed in research on autobiographical memories. In addition, this association between need satisfaction in autobiographical memories and well-being held, even after controlling for person-level measures, such as personality traits, self-determined orientation, or experience of need satisfaction in general in one's life, thus suggesting that autobiographical memory and semantic self-knowledge are distinct databases.

Five separate studies examined the associations of self-criticism and self-oriented perfectionism with goal pursuit across a variety of domains. Although self-criticism has previously been shown to be related to diminished goal progress, a controversy remains regarding the potential association between aspects of “positive perfectionism,” such as self-oriented perfectionism, and enhanced goal progress. The results of the five studies demonstrated a consistent pattern of negative association between self-criticism and goal progress. The results also showed a positive association between self-oriented perfectionism and goal progress when self-criticism was controlled. The important role of self-criticism for understanding the impact of perfectionistic concerns is highlighted by these results. Implications for the debate concerning the possible positive effects of perfectionistic strivings are also discussed.

Impression formation research has traditionally focused on either the characteristics of the target or of the participant, failing to examine their interplay. In the present study, we explored the role of interdependent self-construal on ratings of others who are portrayed as alone or connected. We hypothesized that participants with an interdependent view of the self would prefer others who are portrayed as socially connected, while the opposite would be true for participants low on interdependence. Results showed that college students high on interdependence rated a university professor photographed with another person relatively more positively than a professor photographed alone. This pattern was reversed for participants low on interdependence.

The present study used archival longitudinal data from 5 years old children and their mothers to explore mother and child characteristics associated with motive incongruence 26 years later. Motive incongruence was assessed in terms of discrepancies between implicit and explicit measures of the need for achievement, power and affiliation. Previous research has suggested that trait self-determination, which involves self-awareness and perceived volition in one’s actions, moderates the level of implicit/explicit motive incongruence. We hypothesized that early childhood experiences that interfere with the development of self-determination would be associated with later motive incongruence. Our results showed that childhood factors that reflected mother–child difficulties in the areas of autonomy and relatedness were significantly related to adult levels of motive incongruence. Specifically, adult motive incongruence was significantly associated with strong maternal inhibition of the child’s dependent and sexual impulses, maternal separation during the child’s second year, and mother reports of feeling dominated by the child. Limitations of the data are discussed.

From a self-determination perspective, we attempted to replicate previous findings suggesting thathigher autonomous environmental motivation (i.e., acting out of choice and pleasure) is associatedwith the frequency of environmental behaviours such as recycling, paper reuse, and energyconservation. We also compared students’ level of autonomous environmental motivation with theirlevel of autonomous academic motivation. We then examined age effects on autonomous environ-mental motivation and compared them to age effects on autonomous academic motivation. A totalof 200 high school students grouped into 5 age cohorts filled out a questionnaire. Results showedthat (1) adolescents’ autonomous environmental motivation was associated with more frequentenvironmental behaviours, (2) autonomous motivation was higher in the environmental than theschool domain, and (3) autonomous environmental motivation was higher in older than youngerstudents, whereas autonomous motivation toward school was equivalent across age groups.Keywords: motivation, environment, school, development

The present study examined the way in which children attending Orthodox Jewish schools internalize the value of both their Jewish studies and secular studies, as well as the value of Jewish cultural practices. A distinction was made between identified internalization, where children perceive Jewish studies and Jewish culture to be an important part of their sense of self, and introjected internalization, where children participate in Jewish studies and Jewish culture because they feel like they “ought to” or because of external pressures. Primary identified reasons for their Jewish studies and Jewish cultural practices were significantly associated with positive self and teacher ratings of adjustment; internalization of secular studies was unrelated to adjustment. The study also found that parental support of autonomy, which involves allowing children some latitude in making decisions for themselves regarding religious issues, was associated with greater identification. Together, these results highlight t...

The current research examined the relations among self-criticism, self-concordant motivation and goal progress of athletes and musicians. The results of a short-term prospective study showed that self-criticism was negatively associated with self-concordant goal motivation and with goal progress. The effect of self-criticism on goal progress appeared to be mediated by self-concordant motivation. Results also showed that self-criticism moderated the relation of goal progress to negative affect, such that the negative affect of self-critics was contingent on their level of perceived goal progress. These findings suggest that self-criticism not only represents a risk factor in the pursuit of personal goals, but also for negative affect subsequent to setbacks in goal pursuit.

Recent research (Vallerand et al., 2003) has supported the existence of two types of passion for activities: a harmonious and an obsessive passion. The purpose of this investigation was to study the processes likely to lead to the development of passion. Three studies using correlational and short-term longitudinal designs with varied populations ranging from beginners to experts reveal that identification with the activity, activity specialization, parents' activity valuation, and autonomy support predict the development of passion. Furthermore, results show that children and teenagers whose environment supports their autonomy are more likely to develop a harmonious passion than an obsessive one. Conversely, children and teenagers who highly value activity specialization, who rely heavily on their activity for self-definition, and whose parents highly value the activity are more likely to develop an obsessive passion.

This study examined the effect of autonomy support and autonomous self-regulation on self-reported weight loss. Participants reported significantly greater weight loss when they perceived their family and friends as autonomy supportive of their weight loss efforts. Autonomy support from family and friends was also shown to moderate the effects of an experimental intervention that was delivered in an autonomy-supportive or controlling manner. Furthermore, autonomy support was significantly related to autonomous self-regulation, but its effects on weight loss held true even after controlling for self-regulation, suggesting an independent role of autonomy support from important others. Finally, the effects of autonomy support were distinguished from more directive support from significant others, which did not show similar effects. These findings point to the potential usefulness of developing intervention strategies focused on facilitating the autonomy-supportive behavior of significant others.

People are often seen as social creatures and, consequently, solitary behaviors are often cast in a negative light. However, the authors hypothesized that the act of spending time alone is not necessarily related to negative outcomes; rather, individuals' motivation for doing so plays a key role. On the basis of self-determination theory (E. L Deci & R. M. Ryan, 2000; R. M. Ryan & E. L. Deci, 2000), the authors predicted and found that when individuals spend time alone in a volitional and autonomous manner, they counterintuitively report lower levels of loneliness and higher levels of well-being.

The present study investigated how individual- and group-level psychological need satisfaction (Deci & Ryan, 1985a) influence affect, intrinsic motivation, and performance satisfaction. It also examined the impact of leader personality on group need satisfaction. Groups (45) of 4 college women participated in a task, with 1 member designated “leader.” Multilevel modeling revealed significant between- and within- groups relations. Individuals in groups with higher need satisfaction reported greater pleasant affect, intrinsic motivation, and satisfaction with group performance. In addition, individuals whose need satisfaction was higher than their group's average reported greater intrinsic motivation, pleasant affect, and performance satisfaction. Group need satisfaction was found to be lower under neurotic leaders and higher under agreeable, introverted leaders. Implications for group environments are discussed.

The current studies examined relations between mothers' trust in organismic development, autonomy sup- portive parenting, and adaptation among mothers and their young children. Study 1 showed that trust in organismic development was distinct from optimism, neuroticism, and social desirability whereas it correlated with having relaxed expectations for developmental milestones and making fewer social comparisons about one's child. Study 2 used observational methods to demonstrate a significant link between trust in organismic development and mothers behaving in an autonomy-supportive rather than control- ling manner toward their 1-year-old child during puzzle solving activities. Study 3 used a 1 year prospective design to show that trust in first time mothers was associated with better maternal and child adaptation over time, controlling for initial levels of adaptation and child temperament. Study 4 explored possible social/political antecedents of trust in organismic development by comparing the beliefs of first time mothers from Canada and Norway. The four studies suggest that trust in organismic development fosters autonomy supportive parenting practices and positive maternal and child adaptation. These findings are discussed from the perspective of self-determination theory.

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. Keywords: motivation, autonomy, goal progress Every January, approximately half of the North American adults make a New Year's resolution (Norcross & Vangarelli, 1988). The most common resolutions for working adults are to lose weight, quit smoking, and reduce alcohol consumption (Norcross & Vangarelli, 1988). The most common resolution for college students is to improve their academic performance (Koestner, Lekes, Powers, & Chicoine, 2002). New Year resolutions reflect individuals' attempt to motivate themselves to achieve an important personal goal. Developing a specific goal intention is thought to call forth a universal action plan that automatically guides people to focus their attention on the goal, to muster effort, and to persist in the face of obstacles (Locke & Latham, 1990). New Year's resolutions are rated higher than other personal goals in terms of commitment; they represent personal goals that people really care about (Koestner et al., 2002). Despite the importance of their goals and their commitment to achieving them, most individuals who make a New Year's resolution fail to achieve them. A prospective study of community adults showed that 22% of resolvers reported having failed after only 1 week, 40% reported failure at 1 month, 50% failed at 3 months, 60% at 6 months, and 81% after 2 years (Norcross & Vangarelli, 1988). These reports probably underestimate the actual failure rates because many individuals are reluctant to acknowledge failure in self-reports (Mariait & Kaplan, 1971). A natural question to ask is whether it makes sense for people to set these kinds of personal goals. Not only do people fail to reach their resolution in any single year, but there is also evidence that they continue to fail even if they repeat the same resolution from year to year (Prochaska, Norcross, & DiClemente, 1995). Furthermore, people who fail at their resolutions report that the failure results in negative affect and lowered self-esteem (Mariait & Kaplan, 1971; Norcross, Ratzin, & Payne, 1989). Two leading researchers, Polivy and Herman, concluded that the generally negative results for New Year's resolutions make it difficult to understand why so many individuals persist at these attempts (Polivy & Herman, 2002). They argued that the cycle of failure and renewed effort was maladaptive and rooted in unrealistic expectations about the likely speed, amount, ease, and consequences of self-change attempts. They provided evidence from weight-loss research in support of this model. There are several reasons to question this negative conclusion regarding resolutions. First, it seems possible that Polivy and Herman's (2002) "false hope syndrome" may be uniquely relevant to weight loss attempts, which appear to be particularly unresponsive to long-term sustained change. …

The present study considers how the athletic performance of minority groups relates to national subjective well-being (SWB) and life expectancy. Based on the argument that sports represent a microcosm of society and the reliable finding that national inequality is associated with reduced SWB, we hypothesized that greater opportunities for typically disadvantaged groups within sports should be positively related to national indicators of well-being. Study 1 compared the relation of success in the Paralympics versus the Olympics to national subjective well-being and life expectancy. The results supported our hypothesis. In Study 2 we conceptually replicated these results using the standings of national men’s and women’s soccer teams. Overall, it appears that the opportunities to compete in sports that nations afford to members of disadvantaged groups reflect on the health and well-being of the entire society.

The present paper explored the relation of wealth and support for self-determination to national subjective well-being (SWB). Support for self-determination was considered from both a political and cultural values standpoint. The results confirmed associations between wealth, support for self-determination, and well-being in a large sample of countries. Importantly, political and cultural value supports for self-determination remained significantly associated with national well-being (as measured by happiness reports and life expectancy) even after controlling for national differences in wealth.

The current research examined the relations among self-criticism, autonomous versus controlled motivations, and goal progress. Recent researchers have suggested that self-critics are less autonomously motivated, that is, that their goals are less tied to their interests and personal meaning than is true for other individuals, and that the effects of self-criticism on goal progress are mediated by lower levels of autonomous motivation. The results of two short-term, prospective studies conducted in the United States and Canada indicated that self-criticism was negatively associated with goal progress, while autonomous motivation was positively associated with goal progress in one study and marginally associated in the other. The results demonstrated an association between self-criticism and controlled motivation but not autonomous motivation, and they suggest that self-criticism and autonomy act independently on goal progress. In addition, the results indicated an association between self-criticism and rumination and procrastination that appears to mediate the impact of self-criticism on goal progress. These results highlight the need for consideration of both personality and motivational influences in the study of goal pursuits.

The authors propose a new common treatment factor, autonomous motivation (Deci & Ryan, 2000), defined as the extent to which patients experience participation in treatment as a freely made choice emanating from themselves. Ninety-five depressed outpatients were randomly assigned to receive 16 sessions of manualized interpersonal therapy, cognitive–behavior therapy, or pharmacotherapy with clinical management. Self-report and interviewer-based measures of depressive severity were collected at pretreatment and posttreatment. Autonomous motivation, therapeutic alliance, and perceived therapist autonomy support were assessed at Session 3. Autonomous motivation was a stronger predictor of outcome than therapeutic alliance, predicting higher probability of achieving remission and lower posttreatment depression severity across all three treatments. Patients who perceived their therapists as more autonomy supportive reported higher autonomous motivation.