Abstract
To test effects of practical training in the context of self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985), the present study examined changes in intrinsic, identified, introjected, and external regulation before and after practical training. The study also investigated whether the observed changes could have been predicted from a measure of the participants’ satisfaction with respect to their psychological need for relatedness, autonomy, and competence. Participants were recruited from a nursing-care course, with 117 students participating in a cross-sectional study, and 110 in a longitudinal study. The students in both studies showed a higher level of intrinsic regulation toward nursing-care work after practical training had been completed, which suggests that the training may have facilitated self-determination in their work. Additionally, results from the longitudinal study revealed that satisfaction of the 3 psychological needs through the training was predictive of higher intrinsic and identified regulation. The results also suggested that a feeling of positive relatedness with the clients (in this case, elderly people) was the most significant factor related to improvements in the students’ self-determination in their work in the nursing-care course.
