Self-determination: core idea

· Self-determination theory (SDT) explains motivation by proposing that humans naturally strive to satisfy three basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence and relatedness.
· In SEHS, apply SDT to sport, exercise, health behaviour and coaching: motivation improves when people feel they have choice, feel capable, and feel connected.
· The quality of motivation matters more than simply “how much” motivation someone has.
· Higher-quality motivation is more self-determined, more autonomous, and usually supports enjoyment, self-regulation and persistence.

This image resource supports the three core needs in SDT: autonomy, competence and relatedness. Use it to connect need satisfaction with motivation, resilience and well-being. In exams, these needs should be linked to practical sport examples such as athlete choice, skill mastery and team belonging. Source

Three basic psychological needs

· Autonomy = feeling a sense of choice, volition and personal ownership over behaviour.
· Competence = feeling effective, capable and able to improve or master a task.
· Relatedness = feeling connected, supported, valued and accepted by others.
· Need satisfaction encourages intrinsic motivation, well-being and continued participation.
· Need frustration can contribute to amotivation, poor adherence, defensiveness, dropout or reduced well-being.

Motivation continuum

· Motivation sits on a continuum: amotivation → controlled motivation → autonomous motivation.
· Amotivation = absence of motivation; the individual sees no perceived contingency between effort and reward.
· Controlled motivation = motivation is extrinsic; the activity is a means to an end such as rewards, approval, avoiding guilt or avoiding punishment.
· Autonomous motivation = motivation is intrinsic/self-determined; the activity is valued or enjoyable as an end in itself.
· Intrinsic motivation may involve motivation to know, to accomplish or to experience stimulation.
· Exam comparison: controlled = pressured/externally driven; autonomous = chosen/valued/internally endorsed.

This continuum is directly relevant to C.3.2 because it shows motivation moving from no intention, through controlled regulation, towards autonomous and intrinsic motivation. Use it to compare external, introjected, identified and integrated regulation in HL questions. The key exam idea is that internalization increases as motivation becomes more self-determined. Source

Outcomes linked to motivation type

· Intrinsic motivation is positively associated with enjoyment, self-regulation and persistence.
· Extrinsic motivation is positively associated with anxiety, especially when behaviour feels controlled or pressured.
· In sport, higher autonomous motivation is likely to support long-term adherence, effort in training and resilience after setbacks.
· Over-reliance on rewards, punishment or comparison can shift motivation towards controlled motivation.
· Coaches and teachers should support motivation by giving meaningful choice, clear feedback to build competence, and a supportive social climate to build relatedness.

Sport and exam application

· A mastery climate can support SDT by emphasizing effort, improvement, cooperation and individual progress.
· An ego climate can reduce self-determination if athletes feel judged mainly by winning, ranking or comparison.
· Example: an athlete trains because they enjoy improving technique = autonomous/intrinsic motivation.
· Example: an athlete trains only to avoid being shouted at = controlled motivation/external regulation.
· Example: an exerciser stops attending sessions because effort seems unrelated to progress = amotivation.
· For evaluation questions, link coaching strategies to the three needs: choice supports autonomy, achievable challenges support competence, and team support strengthens relatedness.

This image illustrates how an external reward can reduce intrinsic motivation for an activity that was already enjoyable. It is useful for HL questions on cognitive evaluation theory and rewards. The key interpretation is that rewards can be motivationally harmful if they are experienced as controlling rather than informational. Source

This diagram helps distinguish the regulation types in organismic integration theory. It is useful for remembering that external, introjected, identified and integrated regulation are all forms of extrinsic motivation. The diagram also shows that motivation becomes more autonomous as internalization increases. Source

Linking ideas to other topics

· C.3.3 motivational climate: mastery climates can support autonomy, competence and relatedness; ego climates may increase pressure and anxiety.
· C.3.1 goal orientation: task orientation often fits well with autonomous motivation because it emphasizes self-referenced improvement.
· C.4.1 anxiety: controlled motivation and extrinsic pressure can increase anxiety.
· A.1.2 HL environment: difficult environmental constraints may reduce motivation if athletes feel less competent or less in control.
· Inquiry link: investigations into rewards and motivation should consider sample size, motivation type and whether rewards are perceived as controlling or informational.