Extreme endurance challenges require considerable persistence from individuals to pursue self-set goals under prolonged physical strain and psychological discomfort. In the present work, we addressed the question of whether walkers' reasons or motivation for pursuing their goals predicts their mental experiences and performance in the context of an extreme endurance challenge. Using cluster-analytical techniques, we identified profiles involving different combinations of motivations for goal pursuit in a sample of 1,057 walkers (M-age = 43.34 years, 40.6% female) who participated in a 100-km trail. Participants completed surveys on their mental experiences before, during, and after the trail, and performance was objectively measured through scanned tracking data registered by the organization. Four distinct motivation profiles emerged. The good-quality profile, characterized by high autonomous and low controlled motivation, consistently reported the most favorable outcomes. The high-quantity profile, which combined high levels of both autonomous and controlled motivation, was associated with a mixed pattern, showing both benefits and costs. The low-quantity profile, low on all motivational types, displayed better outcomes than the poor-quality profile, which was marked by high controlled and low autonomous motivation. The poor-quality profile exhibited the most maladaptive mental outcomes, along with the lowest walking distance, highlighting the psychological and performance-related costs of controlled motivation in this endurance context. These findings emphasize that the type or quality of motivation for pursuing self-set goals is more critical than the amount or quantity of motivation, even in extreme endurance settings.

Although extensive research has examined the impact of the social context on motivation, relatively less attention has been given to individuals' capacity to regulate their own motivation in the absence of external influences. Grounded in self-determination theory, the present research investigates the effectiveness and antecedents of situational autonomy- and control-oriented Self-Motivating Strategies (SMS) in shaping individuals' task experience and behavior. Study 1 (N = 169; M-age = 19.3; 72% female) examined whether the use of situational autonomy- and control-oriented strategies differentially relate to individuals' experience (interest, boredom), performance (accuracy, reaction time), and persistence in a boring computer task, as well as whether the situational use of these strategies is influenced by individuals' habitual reliance on these strategies. Study 2 (N = 216; M-age = 18.91; 89% female) additionally explored the effects of an experimental induction of both types of SMS. Both studies demonstrated that autonomy-oriented strategies helped to sustain interest, improved task accuracy, and fostered greater task persistence, whereas control-oriented strategies increased boredom and predicted slower reaction times. In addition, while both types of situational strategies were predicted by their corresponding habitual use, control-oriented SMS were significantly heightened after an experimental induction. These findings underscore the differential effects of SMS, suggesting that not all strategies to maintain and uplift one's motivation are equally effective. We discuss theoretical and practical implications, emphasizing the benefits of fostering autonomy-oriented strategies while minimizing reliance on control-oriented strategies.

Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, this longitudinal study examined whether learners’ motivation for mathematics predicts the development of arithmetic fluency, above children’s cognitive capacities and the diagnosis of a mathematical learning disability (MLD). Within a one-year timeframe, two waves of data were collected among elementary school children ( N = 110 ; M age = 10.46). Using multivariate latent change modelling, results showed that higher baseline autonomous motivation predicted both higher initial arithmetic fluency and stronger subsequent growth, whereas baseline controlled motivation predicted lower initial fluency but not growth. Moreover, within-person increases in autonomous motivation were associated with greater fluency gains, while changes in controlled motivation were unrelated. Importantly, these within-person effects of autonomous motivation remained robust even after controlling for working memory, intelligence, and an MLD diagnosis, highlighting its unique contribution to progress in arithmetic fluency beyond cognitive capacities and mathematical learning difficulties. Fostering autonomous motivation may therefore be a key lever for educators to support learning progress and help all learners, including those who struggle with mathematics, to better reach their full potential.

The current study examines the extent to which soccer players’ autonomous (i.e., volitional) and controlled (i.e., pressured) reasons for mastery-approach goal pursuit are related to challenge and threat appraisals for an upcoming game and, in turn, to players’ performance. We investigate these relations at both the between-player and within-player levels, allowing us to capture not only how different athletes typically regulate mastery-approach goals and appraise competitive situations, but also how these motivational dynamics fluctuate from game to game within the same athlete. The sample consisted of 467 games nested within 127 players (Mage = 26.31, SD = 5.51). Multilevel structural equation modeling revealed that autonomous reasons for pursuing mastery-approach goals related positively to challenge appraisals, whereas controlled reasons related positively to threat appraisals, both at the between- and the within-player level. Whereas challenge appraisals were unrelated to coach-rated performance at any level, threat appraisals related negatively to coach-rated performance at the between-player level. The discussion focuses on the importance of considering the dynamic nature of players’ goal pursuits when trying to understand player performance.

Some coaches are convinced that controlling practices will not harm their athletes if they simultaneously are warm and caring. This study, grounded in Self-Determination Theory and Skinner's coping framework, explored these convictions among 179 volleyball players (67.6% female; age = 21.12 +/- 4.66 years). Participants assessed perceived controlling and relatedness-supportive coaching styles, their coping strategies, self-reported performance, engagement, competitive anxiety, and burnout. Results showed that controlling coaching related to reduced performance, and more competitive anxiety and burnout. Controlling coaching associated indirectly with these athletes' outcomes through compulsive compliance. Finally, when coaches were perceived to display moderate or high levels of relatedness-support, controlling coaching related to worse performance, and more competitive anxiety. These results suggest that a closer coach-athlete bond may exacerbate the detrimental impact of controlling coaching, as athletes feel internally pressured to obey the coach's demands without internally accepting these commands.

In many work contexts, procedural tasks are communicated through lengthy procedural instructions. Previous research suggests that such lengthy instructions can backfire, reducing employee motivation, causing irritation, and hindering performance. Inspired by research in Self-Determination Theory and computer-based instructional design, this experimental laboratory study (N = 93 students; Mage = 19.35 years), which included a control group with long instructions and two experimental groups, sought to determine the effectiveness of two measures to counteract the costs associated with long instructions. Experimental manipulation involved, first, the use of short instructions and, second, the provision of long instructions through user choice. Results showed that both countermeasures reduced reactance and improved accuracy compared to long instructions. While user choice instructions additionally reduced irritation and boredom compared to the other two conditions, the provision of short instructions produced lower productivity compared to the other two conditions. Finally, the mediation model revealed that autonomy need satisfaction accounted for the benefits of user choice on identified motivation and boredom. Theoretical and practical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, the current experimental study examines how the manipulation of (a) contextual pressure placed on coaches (pressure versus no pressure) and (b) the feedback coaches receive about their teams' performance (performing below expectations versus performing well) affects the perceived coaching style by athletes and athletes' sports experiences in an ecologically valid field experiment in the context of basketball practice. The study involved 262 youth basketball players and their 30 coaches, who were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions. Results, analyzed using linear regression analyses with a random intercept, indicated that athletes of coaches assigned to the pressure conditions experienced less autonomy support than athletes of coaches in the no-pressure conditions. In addition, athletes of coaches who were told that their team performed poorly experienced less need satisfaction than athletes of coaches who received positive performance feedback. When the two antecedents were considered in combination, the condition involving the absence of pressure and the presence of positive feedback experienced the most autonomy support. No effects on perceived coach control, athletes' intrinsic motivation, and feelings of tension were found. The discussion section elaborates on both significant and non-significant findings.

To manage the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, governments imposed public health measures requiring considerable effort and behavioral change from citizens. Grounded in self-determination theory, we investigate the relationship between citizens' motivation for adhering to health-protective behavior and epidemiological changes in SARS-CoV-2. Specifically, we investigated the concurrent (Hypothesis 1) and prospective (Hypothesis 2) association between daily motivation quality and daily actual growth rates in infections and hospitalizations in Belgium, thereby also testing the explanatory role of behavioral adherence to account for this prospective association (Hypothesis 3). Data were collected during the first 12 months of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic using online surveys (N = 183,766; 7.2% missing days; 0% vaccinated; M-age = 50.41; 68.2% female) and the Google Mobility dataset. Multilevel models revealed that hospitalization rates (but not infection rates) are concurrently related to a better quality of motivation, with citizens identifying more with the value of measures and feeling less externally pressured to comply with them on a day with more hospitalizations. Across time, better quality of motivation predicted, respectively, lower infection and lower hospitalization rates 6 and 7 weeks later, with improved behavioral adherence, as assessed by self-reports and registered mobility, accounting for the benefits of motivation (i.e., mediation). We conclude that for a preventive policy to durably impact the epidemiological course, citizens need to fully identify with the importance of introduced health-protective measures such they volitionally adhere to them.

Background People’s perceived risk of being infected and having severe illness was conceived as a motivational source of adherence to behavioral measures during the COVID-19 crisis. Methods We used online self-reported data, spanning 20 months of the COVID-19 crisis in Belgium ( n = 221,791; 34.4% vaccinated; July 2020 - March 2022) to study the association between risk perception and motivation. Results Both perceived infection probability and severity fluctuated across time as a function of the characteristics of emerging variants, with unvaccinated persons perceiving decreasingly less risk compared to vaccinated ones. Perceived severity (and not perceived probability) was the most critical predictor of autonomous motivation for adherence to health-protective measures, a pattern observed at both the between-day and between-person level among both vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. An integrated process model further indicated that on days with higher hospitalization load, participants reported being more adherent because risk severity and autonomous motivation for adherence were more elevated on these days. Conclusions These findings suggest that risk severity served as a critical and dynamic resource for adherence to behavioral measures because it fostered greater autonomous regulation.

In spite of the safety and efficiency of the COVID-19 vaccines and the many promotion efforts of political and expert authorities, a fair portion of the population remained hesitant if not opposed to vaccination. Public debate and the available literature point to the possible role of people's attitudes towards medical institutions as well as their preference for complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) on their motivations and intentions to be vaccinated. Other potential ideological factors are beliefs about environmental laissez-faire and divine providence insofar as they encourage people to let the pandemic unfold without human interference. In three cross-sectional samples (total N = 8214), collected at successive moments during the Belgian vaccination campaign, the present research examines the distal role of these psychological and ideological factors on vaccination intentions via motivational processes. Study 1 gauges the relation between trust in medical institutions and preference for CAM on intentions to get vaccinated via motivations. Study 2 examined the role of beliefs in the desirability of letting nature take its course ('environmental laissez-faire beliefs') on vaccination intention via motivations. Study 3 tests whether people's adherence to environmental laissez-faire and beliefs about divine providence are linked to their motivations for vaccination via trust in the medical institutions and CAM. Results show that adherence to CAM has a deleterious effect on vaccination intentions, whereas trust in medical institutions has a positive effect. Both ideological factors pertaining to external control are only moderately related, with environmental laissez-faire beliefs having stronger effects on CAM, medical trust and vaccination motivations. We discuss the importance of this set of results in light of the growing interest in CAM and the increasing presence of messages appealing to the environment.

Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, this game-to-game study among Flemish volleyball coaches and athletes had two primary objectives. First, we examined how variations in need-supportive and need-thwarting coaching styles related to variations in athletes' basic psychological needs, motivation, and coach-rated performance. Second, we examined whether athletes who perceived their coach as need-thwarting during a specific game would experience different outcomes based on the overall need-supportive or need-thwarting coaching style they encountered across games. Linear mixed modeling on data from 190 elite volleyball athletes (Mage = 23.95, 32.6 % male) and their 26 coaches (Mage = 48.12, 95.7 % male) indicated positive associations between game-specific need-supportive coaching and athletes' reports of game-specific basic psychological need experiences and motivation, as well as coach-rated performance, whereas game-specific need-thwarting coaching showed opposite trends. Athlete perceptions of a coaching style were more predictive of the outcomes than coach perceptions. Second, the lack of systematic cross-level interactions between game-specific coaching and team-level coaching indicated that the observed correlates of game-specific need-thwarting and need-supportive coaching hold regardless of the perceived overall need-thwarting or need-supportive style of the coach across games.

Upon the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, it was clear that the pandemic would not only entail physical but also psychological challenges and threats to individuals’ sustained motivation, behavioral adherence, and mental health. To encourage the Belgian authorities to take these psychological aspects into account, the Motivation Barometer, a large-scale and dynamic survey, was launched in March 2020. Its purpose was to monitor cognitive, affective, and behavioral aspects of citizens’ functioning across the pandemic, with special attention given to motivational and social factors. In the present review, we provide a description of the methodology of the Motivation Barometer, we synthesize the key findings emerging from the Motivation Barometer, we clarify how these findings were used in practice to the benefit of different societal stakeholders (i.e., the broader public, policymakers, intermediate-level organizations, and media), and we highlight its potential contribution for the management of other societal challenges (e.g., climate change, well-being). We conclude that the Motivation Barometer was a critical policy instrument during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Belgium. It helped to bridge the gap between social scientists, policymakers, the media, and the general public, and, as such, allowed to demonstrate the incremental value of psychological sciences for society.

In January 2022, several vaccination policies were debated to address the Omicron outbreak in Belgium. Considering variability in risk perception and vaccine uptake, this study aimed to understand differences in support and expectations for four scenarios, ranging from relaxed to restrictive vaccination policies, to inform policymakers. Using an online survey, 12,670 participants (46% female; Mage = 45.9, SD = 13.38) reported their risk perception, number of vaccination doses (0/1, 2, 3 doses) as well as their support and several anticipated psychological outcomes for each scenario. Mixed model ANCOVA showed a pattern of preferential support for the relaxed scenario and more positive anticipated outcomes (general well-being and government appraisals) compared to the restrictive policies, that were treated equivalently. An exception to this pattern was found when people were vaccinated with three doses and perceived high risk. Taken separately, risk perception and vaccination status were not sufficient to drive positive attitudes toward restrictive policies; only their interaction had an effect. Limitations include the self-selected sample and the vignette methodology. The conjunct role of risk perception and vaccination status should be considered when discussing the introduction of restrictive vaccination policies. These findings inform vaccination strategies management during pandemics. Encouraging people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 has been crucially challenging in times of crisis. In a vignette-based study, we found that people tended to prefer a relaxed policy over three restrictive vaccination policies, including mandatory vaccination, except when they were vaccinated with a booster dose, and perceived high risk of getting ill. This study provided empirical evidence to inform the debate about mandatory vaccination.

Upon the outbreak of the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus, it was clear that the pandemic would not only entail physical but also psychological challenges and threats to individuals’ sustained motivation, behavioral adherence, and mental health. To encourage the Belgian authorities to take these psychological aspects into account, the Motivation Barometer, a large‐scale and dynamic survey, was launched in March 2020. Its purpose was to monitor cognitive, affective, and behavioral aspects of citizens’ functioning across the pandemic, with special attention given to motivational and social factors. In the present review, we provide a description of the methodology of the Motivation Barometer, we synthesize the key findings emerging from the Motivation Barometer, we clarify how these findings were used in practice to the benefit of different societal stakeholders (i.e., the broader public, policymakers, intermediate‐level organizations, and media), and we highlight its potential contribution for the management of other societal challenges (e.g., climate change, well‐being). We conclude that the Motivation Barometer was a critical policy instrument during the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic in Belgium. It helped to bridge the gap between social scientists, policymakers, the media, and the general public, and, as such, allowed to demonstrate the incremental value of psychological sciences for society.

Introduction:After the decision to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Games due to the COVID-19 pandemic, athletes had to adjust to a novel situation with feelings of uncertainty and insecurity. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, this study was the first to examine whether different motivational profiles among Paralympic athletes can be identified, and to link these profiles with the athletes' emotional, cognitive, and performance-related outcomes in times of a pandemic. Methods:Five months before the start of the Paralympic Games, the participants (N = 32; mean age = 33.2 ± 6.8 years) completed an online questionnaire measuring their demographics, basic psychological needs, perceived stress, depressive symptoms, general well-being, and motivational self-regulation strategies. Two months after the Games, they completed a second online questionnaire measuring their actual and perceived performance at the past Games. Results:Through K-means cluster analysis, three distinct clusters were identified based on the athletes' dominant type of motivation, these are, dominantly amotivated (n = 11), autonomously motivated (n = 12), and controlled motivated (n = 9). Comparisons of athletes' emotional, cognitive, and performance-related outcomes depending on their motivational profile revealed that the athletes with a dominantly amotivated profile had the least adaptive outcomes (i.e., low need satisfaction, high need frustration, and more depressive symptoms). Athletes with a dominantly autonomously motivated profile made less use of controlling self-motivating strategies compared to the other two profiles. Moreover, their actual performance at the Paralympic Games was better. Discussion:Although none of the athletes were at severe risk for depression or showed extremely high levels of stress, these results confirm that improving the quality of athletes' motivation can safeguard their well-being and enhance performance in Paralympic Sports.

Some sports coaches not only invest considerable time and energy in their athletes, but also attach their selfworth to the successes and failures of their athletes. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, the present study aimed to examine the theoretical predictors and outcomes of such Athlete-Invested Contingent Self-worth (AICS). Results from a cross-sectional study (Study 1; N = 740, Mage = 34.37 years) and an experimental vignette-based study among youth sports coaches (Study 2; N = 318, Mage = 38.94 years) indicated that AICS was positively related to a controlling coaching style and negatively related to a structuring style. Study 1 showed that a perceived evaluative club board was positively related to AICS, and Study 2 further demonstrated that poor performance was negatively associated with AICS and that an evaluative climate was related to AICS through experiences of need frustration. The discussion focuses on the pitfalls of coaches' contingent self-worth for the development of their athletes.

The essential role of the psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness in well-being has been demonstrated convincingly. Yet whether their fulfillment also serves as a source of resilience in the face of adversity has received limited attention. A longitudinal sample of Belgian citizens (N = 1869; Mage = 56.23, 68% female) completed an online questionnaire on 13 occasions between April 2020 and April 2022 during the COVID-19 crisis. Multilevel analyses showed that need fulfillment, both at the between- and within-person level, related negatively to concerns, even after controlling for exposure to personal risks. Further, the association between concerns and changes in symptoms of depression and anxiety was dampened when people reported higher need fulfillment compared with others (i.e. between-person level) or when they reported periodically more need fulfillment than usual (i.e. within-person level). This moderation effect occurred on top of the systematic negative main effect of need fulfillment on symptoms of anxiety and depression. Psychological need fulfillment serves as a resilience factor (a) by reducing concerns in the face of adverse events (i.e. an appraisal effect) and (b) by mobilizing resources that help individuals to deal better with concerns (i.e. a coping effect). Theoretical and practical implications of the resilience effect of need fulfillment are discussed.

This vignette-based study examined in a sample of unvaccinated Belgian citizens (N = 1918; M-age = 45.99) how health care workers could foster reflection about and intentions to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by experimentally varying their communication style (i.e., autonomy-supportive vs. controlling) and the reference to external motivators (i.e., use of a monetary voucher or corona pass vs. the lack thereof). Each participant was randomly assigned to one of six conditions and rated a vignette in terms of anticipated autonomy satisfaction, perceived effectiveness, reflection, and vaccination intention. An autonomy-supportive, relative to a controlling, communication style predicted greater autonomy need satisfaction, which in turn related positively to perceived effectiveness, reflection, and vaccination intention. External motivators failed to generate positive effects compared to the control condition. The findings highlight the critical role of autonomy support in promoting a self-endorsed decision to get vaccinated.

Background: In November 2020, many European governments imposed severe limitations on social contacts and festive gatherings to avoid a further outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Aims: At the moment when it was still unclear whether Christmas gatherings would be allowed, the present vignette study was conducted to evaluate four hypothetical scenarios varying in restrictiveness (i.e., 1, 2, 4, or an unlimited number of visitors). Method: In total, 5,756 Belgian participants (65.7% female; M-age = 45.6, range: 18-89) evaluated each scenario in terms of the perceived strictness, probability of adherence, and expected psychological advantages (i.e., autonomy, relatedness, pleasure) and disadvantages (i.e., concerns). Results: Evidence for a curvilinear pattern was found, such that the expected psychological benefits increased with an increasing number of allowed visitors till 4, with this effect being reversed in case of an unlimited gathering. Yet, these main effects were qualified: Older adults, those living together, and those scoring high on risk perception and autonomous motivation to adhere to the corona measures expected the more restrictive scenarios to be equally beneficial compared to the more relaxed scenarios. Limitations: Limitations are self-selection of the sample, no counterbalancing of the scenario's and the vignette-based methodology. Conclusion: The present findings suggest that people's risk perception and autonomous motivation are key to secure and stimulate the acceptance of life-restricting measures.

Late adults differ in the degree to which their mental health is impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, with interindividual differences in their capacity to mobilize coping resources playing an important role. Therefore, the search for inner sources of resilience is important to understand late adults’ adaptation to this crisis. Based on Goal Content Theory, a mini-theory within the broader Self-Determination Theory, this study aimed to examine whether older adults’ valuation and attainment of intrinsic goals represent such a source of resilience. Intrinsic goals would form a solid foundation to experience a sense of meaning during this crisis, which, in turn, relates to higher well-being (i.e., life satisfaction and vitality) and lower ill-being (i.e., symptoms of depression, anxiety, and loneliness). During the second month of the lockdown period in Belgium, 693 older adults ( M age = 70.06, SD = 4.48, range: 65–89 years, 62.1% female) filled out online questionnaires concerning the study variables. Structural equation modeling showed that intrinsic goal attainment and goal importance related positively to experiences of meaning in life which, in turn, were related to higher levels of well-being and lower levels of ill-being. No evidence was found for an interaction effect between intrinsic goal attainment and goal importance. Supporting late adults’ pursuit and attainment of meaningful intrinsic goals relates to their well-being and may potentially strengthen their resilience in times of crisis.