Maarten Vansteenkiste

Ghent University | UGhent · Department of Developmental, Personal, and Social Psychology

Humans have a potential for growth, integration, and well-being, while also being vulnerable to defensiveness, aggression, and ill-being. Self-determination theory (R. M. Ryan & E. L. Deci, 2000, Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development and well-being, American Psychologist, Vol. 55, pp. 68–78) argu...

The present study investigated whether satisfaction and frustration of the psychological needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence, as identified within Basic Psychological Need Theory (BPNT; Deci and Ryan, Psychol Inquiry 11:227-268, 2000; Ryan and Deci, Psychol Inquiry 11:319-338, 2000), contributes to participants' well-being and ill-being...

Clinical interventions can be developed through two distinct pathways. In the first, which we call top-down, a well-articulated theory drives the development of the intervention, whereas in the case of a bottom-up approach, clinical experience, more so than a dedicated theoretical perspective, drives the intervention. Using this dialectic, this pap...

The present research complements extant variable-centered research that focused on the dimensions of autonomous and controlled motivation through adoption of a person-centered approach for identifying motivational profiles. Both in high school students (Study 1) and college students (Study 2), a cluster analysis revealed 4 motivational profiles: a...

This special issue is devoted to Prof. Dr. W. Lens, who passed away end of August 2014 while he was vacationing. The special issue is meant to honor Willy’s intellectual contribution to the field of motivation psychology and his enthusiastic and devoted mentorship, which has spurred many of us to study motivation-related topics. In line with Willy’...

Some coaches are convinced that controlling practices will not harm their athletes if they simultaneously are warm and caring. This study, grounded in Self-Determination Theory and Skinner's coping framework, explored these convictions among 179 volleyball players (67.6% female; age = 21.12 ± 4.66 years). Participants assessed perceived controlling...

In January 2022, several vaccination policies were debated to address the Omicron outbreak in Belgium. Considering variability in risk perception and vaccine uptake, this study aimed to understand differences in support and expectations for four scenarios, ranging from relaxed to restrictive vaccination policies, to inform policymakers. Using an on...

Today's youth are growing up in a world threatened by climate change. Facing an uncertain future, young people—and especially adolescents—tend to be concerned about climate change, even more so than other age groups. How can socializing agents (e.g., educators, policymakers, clinicians) support and engage adolescents as they come of age in a warmin...

The question whether social media use (SMU) has a causal influence on mental health sparks a lot of interest. Empirical research to date shows no consensus on the causal effects of SMU on well-being. Therefore, the present study tested if experimentally induced restrictions in SMU led to improvements in well-being outcomes. After a 2-week baseline...

According to self-determination theory, speakers can communicate with listeners either in more controlling or in more autonomy-supportive ways. Whereas most previous studies focused on the lexical semantics (i.e., words) of both communication styles, the current research examined whether experimentally induced controlling versus autonomy-supportive...

According to the need density hypothesis, adolescents are at risk for problematic gaming when they only experience satisfaction of their basic psychological needs within, but not outside, the gaming context. This cross-sectional study among daily gamers (N = 309, M age = 15.63, 94.8% boys) is the first to examine this hypothesis in adolescence, the...

Debatten over opvoeding handelen vaak over de vraag of er zoiets bestaat als universeel geldig opvoedingsadvies. Vanuit een relativistisch standpunt wordt de mogelijkheid van universele wetmatigheden in opvoeding in twijfel getrokken. Bovendien zou opvoedingsadvies vaak een normatief karakter hebben en ouders moeilijk haalbare idealen opdringen. In...

To manage the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, governments imposed public health measures requiring considerable effort and behavioral change from citizens. Grounded in self-determination theory, we investigate the relationship between citizens’ motivation for adhering to health-protective behavior and epidemio...

Abundant research has shown that the support of students’ basic needs for autonomy, relatedness, and competence contributes to higher motivation and mental health. Yet, whether students themselves can craft their own need satisfactions and be trained herein has rarely been examined. The findings of the present online intervention study among univer...

The Dualistic Model of Passion distinguishes between harmonious and obsessive passion, which are associated with athletes’ and coaches’ adjustments. Whereas prior research sampled either athletes or coaches, the present study used a dyadic approach to explore the bidirectional influence of passion on affective experiences in coaches and athletes. U...

During the past two decades, developmental research has intensively addressed the role of autonomy-supportive and controlling parenting in adolescents’ psychosocial adjustment, thereby increasingly adopting a dynamic approach. This paper provides an overview of this emerging approach, discussing three ways in which autonomy-relevant parenting is dy...

Background People’s perceived risk of being infected and having severe illness was conceived as a motivational source of adherence to behavioral measures during the COVID-19 crisis. Methods We used online self-reported data, spanning 20 months of the COVID-19 crisis in Belgium (n = 221,791; 34.4% vaccinated; July 2020 - March 2022) to study the as...

In spite of the safety and efficiency of the COVID‐19 vaccines and the many promotion efforts of political and expert authorities, a fair portion of the population remained hesitant if not opposed to vaccination. Public debate and the available literature point to the possible role of people's attitudes towards medical institutions as well as their...

Despite the common belief that spending excessive time on social media apps harms adolescents' daily functioning, the impact of screen time is likely to differ depending on how well the use of social media aligns with adolescents' psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Grounded in self-determination theory, the aim of this s...

Although cognitive load theory research has studied factors associated with motivation, these literatures have primarily been developed in isolation from each other. In this contribution, we aimed to advance both fields by examining the effects of instructional strategies on learners’ experience of cognitive load, motivation, engagement, and achiev...

Autonomy is a multifaceted construct that has been conceptualized, defined, and measured in different ways. In this article, we review different theoretical approaches to adolescent autonomy development and highlight the contributions of two currently prominent theoretical perspectives: Self-determination theory and social-cognitive domain theory....

Attending university can be stressful and involve significant lifestyle changes: adjusting to the demands of a new learning environment, interacting with a diverse range of new people and environments, and (coping with) being away from trusted support networks. Although sixty per cent of students navigate higher education without emotional problems...

Introduction Debate about the precise role of social media use (SMU) in the mental health of today's adolescents is still ongoing. The present study adds to the literature by focusing on adolescents' experiences during SMU and in their offline activities through the lens of basic psychological needs, which are central to self‐determination theory....

Upon the outbreak of the SARS‐CoV‐2 virus, it was clear that the pandemic would not only entail physical but also psychological challenges and threats to individuals’ sustained motivation, behavioral adherence, and mental health. To encourage the Belgian authorities to take these psychological aspects into account, the Motivation Barometer, a large...

The essential role of the psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness in well‐being has been demonstrated convincingly. Yet whether their fulfillment also serves as a source of resilience in the face of adversity has received limited attention. A longitudinal sample of Belgian citizens ( N = 1869; M age = 56.23, 68% female) comple...

Introduction Parents try to prevent possible negative outcomes associated with gaming by setting rules on their adolescent's gaming behavior (i.e., restrictive mediation). Parents can use either more autonomy‐supportive or more controlling styles to communicate those rules. Using a person‐centered approach, this study aims to, first, identify profi...

This study examined the unique and interactive role of students’ quality of motivation, as defined in self-determination theory, and their mindsets about intelligence, as conceptualized in Dweck’s framework, in predicting a variety of learning outcomes (engagement, learning strategies, persistence, procrastination, and test anxiety) and achievement...

Parental burnout emerges as a response to chronic and overwhelming parenting stress and is related to dysfunctional parenting practices, such as neglectful or violent behavior. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, the current study aims to evaluate parenting stress as an antecedent and the more general quality of parenting as an outcome of parent...

Although negotiation is generally considered an adaptive means for adolescents to express disagreement in the parent-child relationship, previous research on the correlates of adolescents’ negotiation has reported rather mixed results. This may be because parents do not always positively appraise and respond to adolescents’ negotiation. The key aim...

Background: The stringency of the measures taken by governments to combat the COVID-19 pandemic varied considerably across countries and time. In the present study, we examined how the proportionality to the epidemiological situation is related to citizens’behavior, motivation and mental health. Methods: Across 421 days between March 2020 and March...

Based on the perceptions of 331 youth athletes (Mage=14.33) and their most involved parent in sports (Mage = 45.96), this study examined whether different profiles of parental behavior (i.e., autonomy-, competence-, and relatedness-supportive and thwarting in the context of sports) could be identified, the extent to which these profiles align betwe...

Introduction Late adolescents differ in the degree to which they are thoroughly engaged in the study choice process and in the degree to which their choices are autonomous in nature. This study examined the unique and interactive roles of (a) parental involvement in the study choice process and (b) late adolescents' sense of having an authentic inn...

Despite broad interest in how children and youth cope with stress and how others can support their coping, this is the first Handbook to consolidate the many theories and large bodies of research that contribute to the study of the development of coping. The Handbook's goal is field building - it brings together theory and research from across the...

As cognitively gifted students may be at risk for motivational problems and underachievement, it is critical to find effective ways to motivate them. Grounded in self-determination theory (SDT) and the literature on teacher beliefs and mindsets, the present study examined whether teachers adapt their motivational teaching style as a function of the...

This study tested an integrative model linking experiences of need frustration and need satisfaction with suicidal ideation through a risk-enhancing (via anxious-depressive symptoms) and a risk-reducing pathway (via positive cognitions) in adolescents. The generalizability of the model based on the clinical status of the participants was also explo...

Some sports coaches not only invest considerable time and energy in their athletes, but also attach their self-worth to the successes and failures of their athletes. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory, the present study aimed to examine the theoretical predictors and outcomes of such Athlete-Invested Contingent Self-worth (AICS). Results from a...

Late adults differ in the degree to which their mental health is impacted by the COVID-19 crisis, with interindividual differences in their capacity to mobilize coping resources playing an important role. Therefore, the search for inner sources of resilience is important to understand late adults’ adaptation to this crisis. Based on Goal Content Th...

Overprotective parenting is associated with developmental difficulties in adolescents, with adolescents’ psychological need frustration playing a mediating role. However, these negative effects of overprotection might depend on how adolescents cope with such parenting. The current study used a person-centered approach to examine the moderating effe...

Motivation science has advanced tremendously in the past decade. However, it is now clear that future progress is going to be stalled by the extent of disagreement among motivation scientists to some basic, yet controversial, questions. To help move motivation science toward greater coherence, the editors recruited prominent scholars to debate thei...

Motivation science has advanced tremendously in the past decade. However, it is now clear that future progress is going to be stalled by the extent of disagreement among motivation scientists to some basic, yet controversial, questions. To help move motivation science toward greater coherence, the editors recruited prominent scholars to debate thei...

Motivation science has advanced tremendously in the past decade. However, it is now clear that future progress is going to be stalled by the extent of disagreement among motivation scientists to some basic, yet controversial, questions. To help move motivation science toward greater coherence, the editors recruited prominent scholars to debate thei...

Self-Determination Theory (SDT) is a broad theory of psychological growth and wellness that has revolutionized how we think about human motivation and the driving forces behind personality development. SDT focuses on people’s basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness and how social environments that support these needs fos...

Self-Determination Theory (SDT) is a broad theory of psychological growth and wellness that has revolutionized how we think about human motivation and the driving forces behind personality development. SDT focuses on people’s basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness and how social environments that support these needs fos...

Self-Determination Theory (SDT) is a broad theory of psychological growth and wellness that has revolutionized how we think about human motivation and the driving forces behind personality development. SDT focuses on people’s basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness and how social environments that support these needs fos...

Self-Determination Theory (SDT) is a broad theory of psychological growth and wellness that has revolutionized how we think about human motivation and the driving forces behind personality development. SDT focuses on people’s basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness and how social environments that support these needs fos...

Self-Determination Theory (SDT) is a broad theory of psychological growth and wellness that has revolutionized how we think about human motivation and the driving forces behind personality development. SDT focuses on people’s basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness and how social environments that support these needs fos...

Whereas both the family and school environment have been suggested to affect school burnout risks, the role of conditionally regarding parenting or teaching, in which affection is granted conditional on student achievement, in the development of school burnout has not yet been examined. This longitudinal study investigated students’ academic contin...

The transmissibility of new COVID-19 variants and decreasing efficacy of vaccines led authorities to recommend a booster and even an annual dose. However, people's willingness to accept new doses varied considerably. Using two independent longitudinal samples of 4596 (Mean age = 53.6) and 514 (Mean age = 55.9) vaccinated participants, we examined h...

Motivation science has advanced tremendously in the past decade. However, it is now clear that future progress is going to be stalled by the extent of disagreement among motivation scientists to some basic, yet controversial, questions. To help move motivation science toward greater coherence, the editors recruited prominent scholars to debate thei...

During the initial outbreak of the global COVID-19 pandemic, many countries imposed a total lockdown (containment at home). Although it was still allowed in Belgium to be physically active or exercise with people from your household in the vicinity of your home, engaging in sports or physical activity in a group or club context was no longer permit...

The literature on emotion regulation is vast and insightful, but little is known about the proactive regulation of positive emotions. Herein we coin the term emotion crafting, indicating whether individuals are aware of positive emotion-inducing contexts (awareness) and proactively act upon this awareness (action) to increase their positive emotion...

This study used a longitudinal person-oriented approach to examine whether two distinct developmental pathways of maladaptive motivation could be distinguished among high-ability students (intelligence quotient [IQ] ≥ 120, N = 403, M age = 12.2 years, 60.5% males), as proposed by the Pathways to Underachievement Model. Latent class growth analysis...

The COVID-19 pandemic elicited a lot of concerns among citizens, thereby potentially compromising their well-being. This study sought to examine the role of individuals' emotion regulation styles (i.e., emotional dysregulation, emotional suppression, and emotional integration) in handling these concerns and their experiences of well-being (i.e., sa...

To explain why there is substantial heterogeneity in the degree to which adolescents suffer from psychologically controlling parenting, it is important to take into account adolescents’ active contribution to the socialization processes and to their coping with controlling parenting in particular. This study aimed to examine whether adolescents’ co...

Students’ adaptive motivation to study tends to decrease over time. However, the reasons for this decline are not fully understood. Drawing on self-determination theory (SDT), we investigated whether changes in teachers’ motivating style and students’ associated need-based experiences could explain the motivational decline documented in the literat...

This vignette-based study examined in a sample of unvaccinated Belgian citizens (N = 1918; Mage = 45.99) how health care workers could foster reflection about and intentions to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by experimentally varying their communication style (i.e., autonomy-supportive vs. controlling) and the reference to external motivators (i.e...

Background: People’s perceived risk to be infected and to have severe illness has been thought as a motivational source of adherence to behavioral measures during the COVID-19 crisis. Methods: We used online self-reported data, spanning 20 months of the COVID-19 crisis in [blinded] (n = 241,275; 34% vaccinated; July 2020 - March 2022). Results: The...

Objective: Across nationwide rollout of COVID-19 vaccination, people in Belgium differed widely in their vaccination intention. In the present study, we examined (a) how people’s vaccination intentions changed during the vaccination rollout and (b) whether changes in motivation (i.e., autonomous, controlled, and distrust-based (a)motivation) predic...

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03012-2.].

Research has repeatedly shown the importance of the relationship between a coach and an athlete. Despite these findings, we argue that the approaches used in previous research fail to sufficiently consider the dyadic and bidirectional nature of the coach-athlete relationship. Although the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) was already propo...

Rationale At the start of 2021, several SARS-CoV-2 cluster outbreaks in schools threatened in-person education and created a fairly chaotic and frightening environment for school personnel. To keep the schools open while preventing COVID-19 outbreaks, intensive diagnostic testing in teachers and school personnel was strongly recommended but missing...

Background: : This vignette study explores which factors contribute to higher COVID-19 vaccination intentions. Methods: : Between the 4th-11th January 2021, we recruited 15,901 Belgian citizens (Mage=50.11 years, range 18-100) through convenience sampling to participate in a vignette study. In each vignette, we manipulated contextual determinant...

Objective. Across nationwide rollout of COVID-19 vaccination, people in Belgium differed widely in their vaccination intention. In the present study, we examined (a) how people’s vaccination intentions changed during the vaccination rollout and (b) whether changes in motivation (i.e., autonomous, controlled, and distrust-based (a)motivation) predic...

Background: In November 2020, many European governments imposed severe limitations on social contacts and festive gatherings to avoid a further outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Aims: At the moment when it was still unclear whether Christmas gatherings would be allowed, the present vignette study was conducted to evaluate four hypothetical scenari...

Significance Communicating in ways that motivate engagement in social distancing remains a critical global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study tested motivational qualities of messages about social distancing (those that promoted choice and agency vs. those that were forceful and shaming) in 25,718 people in 89 countries...

Although it has been hypothesized that gifted students are at risk for adopting a fixed mind-set, research revealed inconsistent results. We aimed to clarify this by differentiating between two operationalizations of giftedness (high cognitive ability and formal identification as gifted) and how these relate to students’ beliefs about intelligence...

Based on self-determination theory, this diary study examined associations between adolescents' daily need crafting and daily fluctuations in their need-based and affective experiences. We also examined the role of daily perceived autonomy-supportive parenting in adolescents' daily need-crafting. Adolescents (N = 159; M age = 15.56; 62% female) fil...

The COVID-19 pandemic represents a threat not only to individuals’ physical health but also to their mental health. Self-Determination Theory assumes that the satisfaction of basic psychological needs for autonomy, relatedness and competence promotes psychological well-being during destabilizing times. Yet, the pandemic seriously hampered individua...

Grounded in self-determination theory, this study examined the explanatory role of teachers’ need-based experiences in the association between teachers’ perceived social pressure (i.e., from the principal, colleagues, and students) and their personal adjustment and motivating teaching style. In total, 482 secondary school teachers (M age = 39.9 yea...

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected people across the world, with important heterogeneity among older adults in how they respond to the challenges associated with this crisis. Relying on a cross-fertilization between Erikson’s personality theory and Self-Determination Theory, this study aimed to examine possible sources of resilience (i.e., ego inte...

Rationale Vaccination willingness is a critical step in the effort to reach herd immunity and control the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, many people remain reluctant to be vaccinated. Objective Integrating the literature on Self-Determination Theory, trust in authorities, and conspiracy theories, this research examines (a) the direct and indirec...

This study investigated emotion regulation (i.e., emotional integration, suppression and dysregulation) as a transdiagnostic process underlying adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Basic psychological need experiences were investigated as a possible underlying mechanism explaining this association. A heterogeneous sample of non-cl...

It is well known that exposure to light at the right time of the day is important to synchronise our circadian rhythm and enhance cognitive functioning. There is, however, a lack of field studies investigating which lighting characteristics are necessary to improve sleep and cognitive functioning. A controlled field study with 80 shift workers was...

Although the COVID-19 crisis is a worldwide threat to individuals’ physical health and psychological well-being, not all people are equally susceptible to increased ill-being. One potentially important factor in individuals’ vulnerability (versus resilience) to ill-being in the face of stress is emotion regulation. On the basis of Self-Determinatio...