University Students’ Basic Psychological Needs, Motivation, and Vitality Before and During COVID-19: A Self-Determination Theory Approach

Abstract

Self-determination theory assumes that the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness are associated with motivational regulation. As these basic psychological needs may have been affected by the shift to distance learning, students’ motivational regulation and vitality may have suffered as well. The purpose of this study was to examine the motivational regulation, satisfaction, or frustration of the basic psychological needs and vitality of university students before and after the transition to forced distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: Two student samples from Austria and Germany were studied: One was surveyed before the conversion to distance learning (N=1,139) and the other at the beginning of forced distance learning (N=1,835). The instruments used were the Scales for the Measurement of Motivational Regulation for Learning in University Students (SMR-L), the German version of the Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction and Frustration Scale, a scale developed by the authors to differentiate the assessment of social relatedness, and the German version of the Subjective Vitality Scale. The results show that the satisfaction of basic psychological needs was significantly lower and the frustration thereof substantially higher during the distance learning period than before the pandemic. Intrinsic motivation and identified regulation were significantly lower during the forced distance learning period, and more controlled forms of motivation were higher than before the pandemic. Structural equation models showed that 42% of the students’ vitality can be explained by motivational regulation and the satisfaction and frustration of their basic needs. Motivational regulation styles functioned (differentiated according to the degree of autonomy) as mediating variables between basic needs and vitality. In terms of theoretical implications, the distinction between approach and avoidance components of introjected regulation was shown to be adequate and necessary, as they explain the outcome vitality differently. The support and avoidance of frustration of basic psychological needs should be considered in distance learning to promote the quality of motivation and students’ vitality.

Motivation in Instrumental Music Instruction Before and During the Remote Learning Phase Due to COVID-19 Crisis

“…As evident in other SDT-based studies (Müller et al, 2021;Vandenkerckhove et al, 2019), external regulation is less well explained by perceived satisfaction of the basic needs. However, the explanatory content is higher than in the data collected before the shift to online learning.…”

Maintaining social support while social distancing: The longitudinal benefit of basic psychological needs for symptoms of anxiety during the COVID‐19 outbreak

“…This study provides relevant findings, in line with the well‐established SDT (Ryan & Deci, 2017 ), about the essential role of basic psychological needs for psychological well‐being in times of uncertainty (Vermote et al, 2021 ). The reduction in need satisfaction after the lockdown in Italy could presumably be due to a decreased opportunity to choose activities, to be physically connected to others, and to feel effective at university or work and confirm the higher level of need frustration in the academic context during the distance learning period than before the COVID‐19 pandemic (Müller et al, 2021 ). Furthermore, the implementation of the home confinement restrictions exposed the population to the beginning of a health crisis, creating concern and uncertainty that could decrease the perception of need satisfaction (Vermote et al, 2021 ).…”

Students’ Motivation in an Online and a Face-To-Face Semester

“…However, several researchers have found students’ motivation to decline across different developmental phases and time spans (e.g., Benden & Lauermann, 2021; Jacobs et al, 2002; Kosovich et al, 2017; Robinson et al, 2019). In online courses during pandemic-related lockdowns, motivation was possibly threatened more because many prerequisites for motivation were missing (e.g., social presence and interaction; see also Müller et al, 2021) and students reported an increased amount of stress (Usher et al, 2021). The question arises as to what differences emerge in students’ motivation during distance learning compared to face-to-face learning.…”