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The path from intrinsic aspirations to subjective well-being is mediated by changes in basic psychological need satisfaction and autonomous motivation: A large prospective test

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Abstract

The present study aimed to test the goal contents theory (Ryan and Deci, Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness, Guildford, New York, 2017a) proposal that prioritizing intrinsic aspirations over extrinsic aspirations leads to enhanced well-being through greater satisfaction of basic psychological needs and more autonomous self-regulation. By pooling four prospective studies with an identical five-wave design, we evaluated the impact of aspirations on changes in need satisfaction, goal motivation, and well-being over a school year in a sample of over 1400 university students. Cross-lagged, structural equation modelling (SEM) analyses revealed that relative intrinsic aspirations at baseline predicted experiencing greater need satisfaction, increased autonomous goal motivation, and improved well-being over time. The discussion highlights the value of exploring dynamic relations among the central constructs in self-determination theory.

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Notes

  1. We thank an anonymous peer reviewer for this suggestion.

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Acknowledgements

Work on this manuscript was supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Post-Doctoral Fellowship Award (201511MFE-358664-186305) to the first author, a grant by the Russian Academic Excellence Project (5-100) to the fourth author, as well as a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (435-2014-20463) and Fonds de Recherche du Québec-Société et Culture (2017-SE-196443) grant to the last author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada

    Nora H. Hope

  2. McGill University, Montreal, Canada

    Anne C. Holding, Jérémie Verner-Filion & Richard Koestner

  3. Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, USA

    Kennon M. Sheldon

  4. Higher School of Economics, National Research University, Moscow, Russia

    Kennon M. Sheldon

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  1. Nora H. Hope
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  2. Anne C. Holding
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  3. Jérémie Verner-Filion
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  4. Kennon M. Sheldon
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  5. Richard Koestner
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Correspondence to Nora H. Hope.

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Hope, N.H., Holding, A.C., Verner-Filion, J. et al. The path from intrinsic aspirations to subjective well-being is mediated by changes in basic psychological need satisfaction and autonomous motivation: A large prospective test. Motiv Emot 43, 232–241 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-018-9733-z

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