Motivation, Satisfaction, and Innate Psychological Needs

This study investigates the roles that innate psychological needs and student satisfaction have on doctoral student motivation. A total of 125 doctoral students completed surveys that included how autonomous, competent, satisfied with their program, and motivated they felt. Information about their sense of relatedness to their advisor was also collected. Autonomy was defined as the freedom to do one’s own research. Competence was the overall level of competence the students felt they had in graduate school. A sense of relatedness toward the students’ advisor was the relatedness factor. Hierarchical regression analyses were completed to investigate the relationships among autonomy, competence, relatedness, satisfaction, and motivation to continue graduate school. The results indicated that there was a positive relationship between motivation to continue and autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Autonomy and relatedness were positively related to satisfaction, but competence was not. The relationship between autonomy and relatedness was mediated by satisfaction. The importance of students’ having autonomy over their research indicates that advisors should give their students independence in developing their research agendas. Having a collegial relationship with advisors is also critical for students’ satisfaction and motivation, so these relationships should be encouraged. Limitations, implications, and further research are discussed.