THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BASIC PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS, MOTIVATION AND SELF-EFFICACY IN A SAMPLE OF SECONDARY AND HIGH-SCHOOL CHILDREN FROM CLUJ-NAPOCA, ROMANIA

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Motivation is the key force that drives the individual. According to Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000), human motivation is regulated by the degree to which personal intentions are autonomous or controlled. On the other hand, human behaviour is determined by three basic needs (competence, autonomy and relatedness) which contribute to intrinsic motivation and psychological health. This study has investigated the relationship between basic psychological needs and different types of motivation in an educational context. The research included a large sample of school students from 5th to 12th grade, enrolled in two schools from Cluj-Napoca, Romania (N = 363). All participants completed an online survey aimed to evaluate student’s fulfilment of their basic psychological needs, their motivation and self-efficacy regarding Romanian literature lessons. Results showed that autonomy, competence and relatedness correlated with intrinsic motivation. Moreover, the regression results showed that basic psychological needs predicted half of the variance in intrinsic motivation. The outcomes of this study also revealed that girls displayed higher scores on self-efficacy, autonomy and identified regulation as compared to boys.

Keywords

• self-determination theory
• self-regulated learning
• intrinsic motivation
• basic psychological needs
• autonomy
• competence
• relatedness
• self-efficacy