Relations among Motivations in Self-Determination Theory: A Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000) proposes a comprehensive framework for human motivation in various life domains that has been extensively researched. A meta-analysis was conducted (1) to examine the magnitude of correlations among motivation subscales based on self-determination theory, and (2) to investigate the dimensions underlying the motivation subscales. A comprehensive literature review yielded 87 correlation matrices from 115 articles. The results of the meta-analysis suggest that the estimated population correlations between two adjacent motivations tended to be larger as they progressively became more self-determined from amotivation to intrinsic motivation. An exploratory factor analysis of the estimated correlation matrix revealed two factors, self-determination and controlled motivation. Ways to validate motivation scales and use of indices of motivation are discussed.