The Role of Intrinsic Motivation and the Satisfaction of Basic Psychological Needs Under Conditions of Severe Resource Scarcity

An emerging field of research is beginning to examine the ways in which socioeconomic disparities affect emotional, cognitive, and social processes. In this study, we took a two-step approach to examining the role that resource scarcity plays in the predictive power of intrinsic motivation on school...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychological science 2017-06, Vol.28 (6), p.822-828
Main Authors: van Egmond, Marieke Christina, Berges, Andrés Navarrete, Omarshah, Tariq, Benton, Jennifer
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Adversity
Autonomy
Basic needs
Child
Deprivation
Emotions
Female
Humans
Intrinsic motivation
Motivation
Personal Autonomy
Personal Satisfaction
Poverty
Poverty - psychology
Power
Precursors
Psychological needs
Relatedness
Research Report
Satisfaction
Scarcity
School attendance
Schools
Self determination
Social processes
Socioeconomic factors
Young Adult
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Summary:An emerging field of research is beginning to examine the ways in which socioeconomic disparities affect emotional, cognitive, and social processes. In this study, we took a two-step approach to examining the role that resource scarcity plays in the predictive power of intrinsic motivation on school attendance, as well as its influence on the precursors of intrinsic motivation: the psychological needs of relatedness, autonomy, and competence. Results revealed that intrinsic motivation predicts school attendance even under conditions of extreme adversity. The satisfaction of the basic needs is more important for participants who are exposed to severe rather than mild levels of deprivation. Our findings illustrate ecological effects on the mechanism underlying goal-directed behavior. They provide evidence in favor of self-determination theory's depiction of humans as active, growth-oriented organisms and for the potential of psychological interventions to reduce poverty.
ISSN:0956-7976
1467-9280
DOI:10.1177/0956797617698138