There is a need to explore ways to better motivate students in instruction, as student motivation is an issue confronting teachers at all levels of education. Instructor-student rapport (ISR), a multidimensional concept comprised of students’ enjoyable interaction and personal connection with instructors, has potential to offer educators a tool for increasing these important student outcomes. Further, self-determination theory (SDT) may have utility for illustrating the psychological mechanisms through which instructors influence students by building rapport. First, this study explored what behaviors instructors should employ to build ISR with students. Specifically, prosocial humor (related and unrelated) and confirmation (responding to questions, demonstrating interest, ad teaching style) were investigated as instructor rapport-building behaviors. Results showed that instructors’ use of related humor, demonstration of interest, and teaching style were significant predictors of both dimensions of ISR; mixed results were found for both responding to questions and unrelated humor. Second, this study considered whether ISR was a significant predictor of student outcomes: intrinsic motivation, perceived cognitive learning, and academic performance. While enjoyable interaction was a significant, positive predictor of all three outcomes, personal connection was not a significant, positive predictor of any student outcomes. In fact, personal connection was a significant, negative predictor of perceived cognitive learning. Third, this study explored whether ISR served as a mediator between these rapport-building behaviors and student outcomes as posited by SDT. Enjoyable interaction was a significant mediator in a majority of the models. However, personal connection was not a positive mediator in any models and served as a negative mediator when predicting perceived cognitive learning. Theoretical implications for this study’s findings, along with practical tips for instructors hoping to build ISR with students, are forwarded. In addition, future directions and limitations are discussed.

In the present study, I examined how the quality of relatedness (operationalized as Mutually Responsive Orientation) in the mother-child relationship in kindergarten students affects the association between the mother's values about school and the child's emotional engagement in school. Relatedness, as described by Self-Determination Theory, posits when a child feels a sense of relatedness—supported, respected, and connected with another individual—the child will be more likely to integrate that person's values into their own belief system. Sixty-six mother-child dyads were observed and videotaped doing four everyday activities (mother worked while child played independently, mother and child had a snack, mother and child played a game, mother and child cleaned up). In addition, the mothers filled out a questionnaire reporting their own valuing of school, and children participated in the Berkeley Puppet Interview, a semi-structured interview between researcher and child in which children reported their levels of emotional engagement in school to two dog puppets. Data were coded and then analyzed using multiple regression analysis. Relatedness between mother and child was found to have a moderating effect on the relation between mothers' values about school and children's school engagement. The strongest relation between mothers' values and children's school engagement was found when mother-child relatedness was low. When mother-child relatedness was high, the engagement of the child was not affected by the mother's valuing of school. The study findings offer implications for how children experiencing high levels of relatedness with their mothers will be able to be more successful in the school setting, regardless of the mothers' valuing of their own school experiences.

At least one third of college students enrolled in a given year take at least one course that is 80%+ online delivery (Allen & Seaman, 2015). This number has increased from 10% of students just within the last decade. Given this increase, the need for instructional communication research in this context has also grown. One construct that has had little attention in online settings is that of perceived instructor caring. Caring instructors are perceived as concerned, sensitive, not self-centered, and having students’ best interests at heart (McCroskey & Teven, 1999). Caring has the potential to impact various aspects of student success, but has seen limited application in online learning research. Self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985) uses the term relatedness, and assess the impact on motivation; however, this has also been applied very little in online settings. Guided by self-determination theory, the purpose of this dissertation is to explore perceptions of instructor caring in online education environments, to compare student and faculty views of instructor caring, explore the measurement of mediated instructor caring, and to test a mediation model proposing that perceived instructor caring, autonomy, and competence impacts perceived cognitive learning with motivation and affect as mediators. To do this, the author conducted two mixed-methods studies to compare instructor and student perceptions of caring, validate the measurement of caring, and test the model. Findings seek to improve understanding of how these constructs operate in online learning contexts and to assess self-determination theory for use in online settings, as well as to guide future research in various contexts of instructional communication.

<p>This dissertation aimed to study the effects of rationale generation on college students’ autonomous motivation. Specific research questions were: (1) to investigate the relations among rationale generation, motivation, and learning through the lens of SDT; (2) to examine the causal effects of rationale generation on autonomous motivation and learning performance; and (3) to understand students’ perceptions of successful motivation strategies during uninteresting but required academic activity. An explanatory sequential mixed method design was used to answer these questions. </p>

The student population of the Southern California community college used for this study was just over 10,000 students in 2011. While retention rates for all community college students are a matter of concern, retention rates for Basic Skills students are particularly alarming. The college used for this study reports that 97% of their students assessed into developmental education courses. Currently, California community colleges are working towards implementing several types of intervention strategies with the objective of positively influencing Basic Skill student persistence. Summer bridge programs are one of these strategies. Students completing summer bridge programs are showing signs of immediate academic improvement. However, there is a gap in knowledge regarding the continuing retention rates for students participating in the programs and the motivational factors that influenced the students to participate in, and complete, the programs to begin with. This study focused on student retention and motivational factors through the lens of Self-Determination Theory. While external motivation factors are sometimes viewed as a means to an end and not necessarily conducive to long-range success, Self-Determination Theory supports the concept that extrinsic motivation factors can merge into intrinsic motivation and can therefore be productive. Researchers have suggested summer bridge programs should be evaluated over a longer period of time and should incorporate additional measures rather than relying solely on pre-test/post-test data. With this in mind, this study examined one summer bridge program over a four-year period and focused on student survey data and interview data, which asked students to self-report their motivational influences for attending one of four summer bridge programs. Using the lens of Self-Determination Theory, the researcher analyzed the data looking for intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors. One of the significant outcomes of the study is that the researcher was able to identify motivational factors relating specifically to one summer bridge program. Some eternal factors reported included retaking the assessment test, receiving school supplies, and meeting the requirements of specific scholarships. Intrinsic motivational factors focused on building relationships and improved academic competence. Finally, continued research regarding intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors can also expand to the larger community college student body since motivation in higher education is a multilayered concept.

The Pilot Work Requirement (PWR) for the Housing Authority of San Bernardino is a mandated welfare to work program that was implemented with the goal of promoting self-sufficiency of its residents. Self-sufficiency is both economic and psychological. Participants in welfare-to-work programs view self-sufficiency as a process which includes empowerment, autonomy and confidence and not attainable without motivation. This study measured participant motivation in relation to the PWR program and how it correlates psychological self-sufficiency. The findings of this study suggest that PWR participants have accepted the mandate and have integrated the values of work, education and volunteerism, as their own. And that the PWR participants have psychological self-sufficiency. This study provides more insight about the psychological process of self-sufficiency as residents work towards achieving the goal of economic self-sufficiency.

Cette recherche vise à évaluer l’influence de la rémunération fixe et de la rémunération variable sur la motivation autonome au travail. La recherche mobilise la théorie de l’autodétermination. Elle se compose de deux études distinctes basées sur deux échantillons de 147 puis de 137 salariés de la même coopérative viti-vinicole. La première étude a pour objectif de tester un modèle de recherche qui tente d’expliquer les effets du niveau de rémunération fixe sur la motivation autonome et la satisfaction au travail ainsi que sur un ensemble de comportements reliés. Les résultats supportent l’hypothèse que le support organisationnel perçu médiatise totalement la relation entre la rémunération fixe et la motivation autonome. Cette étude supporte également les hypothèses que la motivation autonome médiatise totalement la relation entre le soutien organisationnel perçu et l’engagement, puis que l’engagement médiatise totalement la relation entre la motivation autonome et la satisfaction au travail.La deuxième étude a pour objectif de tester un modèle de recherche qui tente d’expliquer les effets modérateurs des rémunérations variables sur la relation entre la motivation autonome et la performance au travail. Les effets modérateurs des rémunérations variables individuelles et collectives sont étudiés de façon différenciée sur différentes facettes de la performance : dans la tâche, contextuelle et adaptative. Les résultats de l’étude supportent l’hypothèse que la motivation autonome est positivement reliée à la performance dans la tâche, contextuelle et adaptative. Cette étude supporte également l’hypothèse que les primes individuelles modèrent positivement la relation entre la motivation autonome et les différentes facettes de la performance. / This research aims to evaluate the influence of fixed and variable compensation on autonomous motivation at work. The research mobilizes the self-determination theory. It consists of two separate studies based on two samples of 147 and 137 employees of the same wine cooperative. The aim of the first study is to test a research model that attempts to explain the effects of the fixed compensation level on autonomous motivation and job satisfaction, as well as on a set of related behaviors. The results support the hypothesis that perceived organizational support fully mediates the relationship between fixed compensation and autonomous motivation. This study also supports the hypothesis that autonomous motivation fully mediates the relationship between perceived organizational support and engagement, and that engagement fully mediates the relationship between autonomous motivation and job satisfaction. The aim of the second study is to test a research model that attempts to explain the moderating effects of variable compensation on the relationship between autonomous motivation and performance at work. The moderating effects of individual and collective compensation are studied in a differentiated way. Similarly, task, contextual and adaptive performance is examined in a differentiated way. The results of the study support the hypothesis that autonomous motivation is positively related to, task, contextual and adaptive performance. This study also supports the hypothesis that individual compensation positively moderates the relationship between autonomous motivation and the different facets of performance.

The degradation of the environment and climate change represent some of the most important environmental issues affecting our society today, and we need to better understand what can be done in order to mitigate the negative effects of human activity on the environment. The present program of research proposes to examine, through three studies, how the frequency of pro-environmental behaviours (PEB) and harmful-environmental behaviours (HEB) are related to self-determined (SDM) and non-self-determined motivation (NSDM), stages of change (SOC), the satisfaction versus the frustration of basic psychological needs as defined by Self-Determination Theory, and nature relatedness. In Study 1 (N = 377), a scale was created to measure two distinct types of environmental behaviours, PEB and HEB, and the relationships between these types of environmental behaviours and SDM and NSDM were examined. Results demonstrated that both types of behaviours loaded on two distinct factors when conducting an exploratory factor analysis, that they were associated differently with environmental motivation, and that levels of motivation were different according to the reported frequency of adoption of PEB and HEB. In Study 2a (N = 266) and 2b (N = 529), the role of stages of change (SOC) was introduced to determine whether environmental motivation and behaviours were different across SOC and to examine whether SOC played a mediating or moderating role in the relationship between environmental motivation and behaviours. Results indicated that people in the later SOC displayed higher levels of SDM and PEB while people in the earlier stages reported higher levels of NSDM and HEB. It was also observed that SOC partially mediated the relationship between environmental motivation and behaviours. In Study 3 (N = 507) nature relatedness was compared to the satisfaction and frustration of basic psychological needs proposed by SDT to examine their respective roles in the association of motivation, SOC, PEB and HEB. Results revealed that nature relatedness was incremental to need satisfaction and frustration with regard to levels of SDM. Also, nature relatedness was an important determinant of SOC and both types of environmental behaviours. As for the proposed model, it was demonstrated that high levels of nature relatedness were associated with higher PEB and lower HEB through partial mediation by SDM and SOC, while need frustration was linked to a higher reported frequency of HEB through mediation by NSDM. Overall this thesis expands on SDT research by highlighting the importance of including HEB in conjunction with PEB and by demonstrating the prominent roles that SOC and nature relatedness could play in the motivational process associated with environmental action.

The creation of excessive budgetary slack can be costly, causing organizations to implement internal controls to motivate employees to report more honestly. Internal control research explores many control-related motivations; however, the behavioral effects of autonomy in expanded organizational hierarchies are not well understood in budgeting contexts. This paper examines managerial autonomy and firms’ rationales for the implementation of internal controls in a setting that extends the common participatory dyad utilized in prior literature to an organizational hierarchy that includes owners, mid-level managers, and employees. This setting is explored through the lens of self-determination theory and psychological reactance theory, which offer complementary yet opposite conceptualizations of autonomy. This paper posits that owner restrictions on mid-level manager autonomy can spillover and indirectly influence budgeting decisions. Additionally, the potential for this spillover to influence the relationship between a firm’s rationale for the implementation of internal controls and subsequent budgetary decisions is examined. Findings indicate that the autonomy of mid-level managers has a spillover effect that influences manager’s rejection rates between rounds, but not across rounds and does not interact with a firm’s control implementation rationale.

Although there is ample information on the negative aspects of video game playing, we know less about the benefits and how the benefits transfer to the gamers’ workplace. Further understanding of these relationships may offer employees and employers more insight on how they can reduce counterproductive workplace behaviors (CWB) while also improving workplace morale and productivity. The purpose of this quantitative nonexperimental study is to examine the relationships between time spent engaging in gameplay, workplace self-esteem, and positive and negative workplace behaviors among gamers. Participants anonymously completed an online questionnaire utilizing the Behind the Screen Measure, Counterproductive Workplace Behavior Checklist, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Work Extrinsic Intrinsic Motivation Scale. The crosssectional design consisted of 202 self-identified employed gamers over the age of 18 living in the United States. A series of linear regressions was used to test the hypotheses. According to the study results, frequency of gameplay and workplace self-esteem levels predicted CWB and intrinsic motivation, with low workplace self-esteem being a significant predictor of negative work-related behaviors. Employers, gamers, and friends and family also benefit from the knowledge that over two and a half hours of gaming could have negative effects on their self-esteem and work behaviors. This study facilitates positive social change by promoting a need for increased awareness to gamers and organizations which offer support and long-term positive social change among two different populations.