INCREASING AUTONOMOUS MOTIVATION THROUGH NEEDS SATISFACTION DAILY DIARIES

Students’ motivations to attend college have become increasingly extrinsic, prioritizing factors such as financial gain over learning and personal development (Eagan et al., 2016; Twenge & Donnelly, 2016). Extrinsic motivation has been associated with poor well-being and performance outcomes, including higher distress (Kasser & Ryan, 1996) and overlooking work quality (Kruglanski et al., 1977), while autonomous motivation (AM)— an expansion of intrinsic motivation (IM) including behavior partially and completely mediated internally (Ryan & Deci, 2000)— has been associated with better academic outcomes (e.g. Grolnick & Ryan, 1987; Miserandino, 1996; Ryan & Connell, 1989). The current study investigated whether a week-long daily diary intervention could increase AM to attend college by reflecting on needs satisfying experiences. According to Self-Determination Theory, humans have three basic psychological needs (i.e., autonomy, competence, relatedness), and needs satisfaction facilitates AM (Ryan, 1993). Contrasting previous AM interventions (e.g., Cheon et al., 2014; Jungert et al., 2018), the current intervention required no third party, long treatment time, nor environmental changes. Data analyses revealed the intervention did not increase AM, and IM for intervention completion had no effect on outcomes. Among those who completed all seven daily diaries, the intervention condition was higher in needs satisfaction than the control. Specifically, students saw a significant increase in relatedness satisfaction in the intervention condition. Study implications and directions for future research on accessible AM interventions are discussed.