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Longitudinal Relations between Teachers' Regards and Students' Autonomous Motivation among Chinese Pupils: The Mediating Role of Students' Autonomy Frustration.
Liu Yi, Wang Guoxia, Jin Yimin
Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2026, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (2) : 315-327.
PDF(1287 KB)
PDF(1287 KB)
Longitudinal Relations between Teachers' Regards and Students' Autonomous Motivation among Chinese Pupils: The Mediating Role of Students' Autonomy Frustration.
Teachers' regard refers to how teachers feel about their students during the teaching and learning process, including conditional negative regard, conditional positive regard, and unconditional regard. These three types of regard, arising from socialized agents and manifesting through controlling and relatedness-satisfying behaviors, have been shown to significantly impact students' academic performance and mental health. This encompasses, but is not limited to, academic achievement and bullying behavior. Several studies have shown that teachers' conditional negative regard undermines students' autonomous motivation and the unconditionality of teachers' regard is positively related to students' intrinsic motivation, which constitutes a component of autonomous motivation. However, first, most of these studies are cross-sectional, and few have explored longitudinal relations and mechanisms. Second, these related studies are separate, failing to compare the difference between these three kinds of regard in the same sample. Third, while previous studies have characterized teacher-student interactions as one-way and static, the actual teacher-student interactions are bi-directional and dynamic processes, which have not been adequately reflected in the existing research. It remains unclear whether these three types of teachers' regard are influenced by their students' traits and behaviors (e.g., autonomous motivation).
The objective of the study was to elucidate the interrelationship and longitudinal predictive effects between teachers' regard, pupils' autonomy frustration, and autonomous motivation. A total of 358 Chinese pupils completed measures of perceived teachers' conditional negative regard, conditional positive regard, and unconditional regard, students' autonomy frustration, and students' autonomous motivation at baseline (T1), followed by assessments at 3-month (T2) and 6-month (T3) intervals from each preceding time point. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS26.0 and Mplus8.3. Correlation analyses showed that teachers' conditional negative regard was positively correlated with autonomy frustration but negatively correlated with autonomous motivation; Teachers' conditional positive regard was positively correlated with autonomy frustration and autonomous motivation at certain timepoints; Teachers' unconditional regard was positively correlated with autonomous motivation but negatively correlated with autonomy frustration. The cross-lagged panel model showed that: (1) All autoregressive paths were significant. (2) T1/T2 teachers' conditional negative regard significantly and negatively predict T2/T3 autonomous motivation (β= -.09~-.10, p <.05), while T1/T2 teachers' unconditional regard significantly and positively predict T2/T3 autonomous motivation (β=.08~.09, p <.05), but the longitudinal predictive effect of teachers' conditional positive regard was not significant. (3) T1/T2 autonomous motivation significantly and positively predict teachers' unconditional regard (β=.14~.15, p<.05), but can't predict teachers' conditional negative regard and teachers' conditional positive regard. This means there is a reciprocal effect between teachers' unconditional regard and students' autonomous motivation, with the cross-lagged effect from students' autonomous motivation to teachers' unconditional regard being stronger. (4) The results indicate that T1 teachers' conditional negative regard reduces T3 students' autonomous motivation by increasing T2 autonomy frustration, while T1 teachers' unconditional regard alleviates the decline of T3 students' autonomous motivation by reducing T2 autonomy frustration. Before adding autonomy frustration as the mediator, the longitudinal predictive effects from T1 teachers' conditional negative regard and unconditional regard to T3 students' autonomous motivation are not significant. That is, T2 autonomy frustration fully mediated the effects of T1 teachers' conditional negative regard on T3 autonomous motivation (indirect effect = -.02, 95%CI = [-.03, -.004]), and similarly mediated the effects of T1 teachers' unconditional regard on T3 autonomous motivation (indirect effect =.02, 95%CI = [.002,.04]). (5) The paths from T1 autonomous motivation to T3 teachers' conditional negative regard (indirect effect = -.01, 95%CI = [-.02,.002]) and T3 teachers' unconditional regard are marginally significant (indirect effect =.01, 95%CI = [-.004,.02]).
The main theoretical contributions of this study are as follows. First, the study advances the understanding of the longitudinal mechanisms between teachers' regard and autonomous motivation. Second, the results provide empirical research evidence to support the model proposed by Kanat-Maymon et al. (
teachers' conditional regard / teachers' unconditional regard / autonomous motivation / autonomy frustration / longitudinal mediation model / self-determination theory
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Parents' use of conditional regard as a socializing practice was hypothesized to predict their children's introjected internalization (indexed by a sense of internal compulsion), resentment toward parents, and ill-being. In Study 1, involving three generations, mothers' reports of their parents' having used conditional regard to promote academic achievement predicted (a) the mothers' poor well-being and controlling parenting attitudes, and (b) their college-aged daughters' viewing them as having used conditional regard, thus showing both negative affective consequences from and intergenerational transmission of conditional regard. Study 2 expanded on the first by using four domains, including both genders, and examining mediating processes. College students' perceptions of their mothers' and fathers' having used conditional regard in four domains (emotion control, prosocial, academic, sport) were found to relate to introjected internalization, behavioral enactment, fluctuations in self-esteem, perceived parental disapproval, and resentment of parents. Introjection mediated the link from conditional regard to behavioral enactment. The results suggest that use of conditional regard as a socializing practice can promote enactment of the desired behaviors but does so with significant affective costs.
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Unconditional regard refers to the feeling that one is accepted and valued by others without conditions. Psychological theory suggests that experiences of unconditional regard lead children to feel that they are valuable despite setbacks. We hypothesized that reflecting on experiences of unconditional regard would buffer children's negative self-feelings (eg, shame, insecurity, powerlessness) in the face of setbacks. To test this hypothesis, we randomized children to reflect on experiences of unconditional regard or other experiences, and examined their response to an academic setback 3 weeks later.Participants (11-15 years old) were randomly assigned to reflect for 15 minutes on experiences of unconditional regard (n = 91), conditional regard (n = 80), or other social experiences (n = 76). Research personnel, teachers, and classmates remained blind to condition assignment. Three weeks later, after receiving their course grades, children reported their self-feelings. Course grades were obtained from school records. Receiving low course grades represents a salient and painful real-world setback for children.Replicating previous research, children who received lower grades experienced more negative self-feelings (P <.001). As predicted, this well-established relationship was significantly attenuated among children who had reflected, 3 weeks previously, on experiences of unconditional regard (Ps <.03). Reflecting on unconditional regard specifically reduced negative self-feelings after low grades (P =.01), not after average or high grades (Ps >.17).Reflecting on unconditional regard buffered children's selves against the adverse impact of an academic setback over an extended period of time. Unconditional regard may thus be an important psychological lever to reduce negative self-feelings in youth.Copyright © 2014 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
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The purpose of this study was to detect gender specific patterns in the network of relations between unconditionality of parental and teacher acceptance in the form of unconditional positive regard and a range of educational outcomes, as indexed by academic self‐perception, academic intrinsic motivation, and academic achievement. To test the role of gender as a moderator, a multi‐group analysis was employed within the framework of structural equation modelling with increasing restrictions placed on the structural paths across genders. The results on a sample of 427 adolescents in grades 7–9 showed that conditionality of acceptance undermined level of perceived acceptance for both social agents. Moreover, unconditionality of teacher acceptance exerted stronger influences on students' educational outcomes than unconditionality of parental acceptance, with effect sizes being larger for girls than for boys.
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The authors conducted 2 studies of 9th-grade Israeli adolescents (169 in Study 1, 156 in Study 2) to compare the parenting practices of conditional positive regard, conditional negative regard, and autonomy support using data from multiple reporters. Two socialization domains were studied: emotion control and academics. Results were consistent with the self-determination theory model of internalization, which posits that (a) conditional negative regard predicts feelings of resentment toward parents, which then predict dysregulation of negative emotions and academic disengagement; (b) conditional positive regard predicts feelings of internal compulsion, which then predict suppressive regulation of negative emotions and grade-focused academic engagement; and (c) autonomy support predicts sense of choice, which then predicts integrated regulation of negative emotions and interest-focused academic engagement. These findings suggest that even parents' use of conditional positive regard as a socialization practice has adverse emotional and academic consequences, relative to autonomy support.
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Interventions based on self-determination theory to help teachers support their students' autonomy have measured teachers' autonomy-supportive and controlling behaviors as unidimensional constructs. This study investigated whether a Web-Based Autonomy-Supportive Intervention Program (WB-ASIP) for physical education (PE) teachers would alter their students' perceptions of (a) the teachers' multidimensional autonomy-supportive and controlling behaviors, (b) their own psychological need satisfaction and frustration, and (c) perceived intrinsic motivation. We found that WB-ASIP significantly increased students' perceptions of all autonomy-supportive teacher behaviors and students' need satisfaction. At follow-up, we found that WB-ASIP led to a significant decrease in students' perception of teacher intimidation behaviors and students' autonomy frustration. These results suggest that a web-based intervention program to enhance PE teachers' autonomy-supportive behavior and minimize their controlling behavior was partially effective in positively changing their students' perceptions.
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Responsible gambling (RG) is a practical approach to contain potential gambling-associated harms to an acceptable level. However, few studies have proposed a theoretical framework to account for significant individual differences in RG adherence, which hinders an effective RG promotion in public. To address this missing link, the current study aims to identify psychological need factors associated with adherence to RG practices. We applied the self-determination theory (SDT) to explore the association between the satisfaction of basic psychological needs (i.e., relatedness, competency, and autonomy) and RG adherence in a probability Chinese community adult sample (N = 1002; 55.7% women and M = 44.28 years), acquired from a telephone survey conducted in the 2018 fall with a two-stage cluster random sampling method. We found that the three types of basic needs satisfaction were significantly and positively related to RG adherence via a full mediation of flourishing. The findings provide practical insights to understanding individual differences in RG adherence and designing corresponding SDT-based interventions for gambling communities globally.© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
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This is the first paper in a series of two that synthesizes, compares, and extends methods for causal inference with longitudinal panel data in a structural equation modeling (SEM) framework. Starting with a cross-lagged approach, this paper builds a general cross-lagged panel model (GCLM) with parameters to account for stable factors while increasing the range of dynamic processes that can be modeled. We illustrate the GCLM by examining the relationship between national income and subjective well-being (SWB), showing how to examine hypotheses about short-run (via Granger-Sims tests) versus long-run effects (via impulse responses). When controlling for stable factors, we find no short-run or long-run effects among these variables, showing national SWB to be relatively stable, whereas income is less so. Our second paper addresses the differences between the GCLM and other methods. Online Supplementary Materials offer an Excel file automating GCLM input for Mplus (with an example also for Lavaan in R) and analyses using additional data sets and all program input/output. We also offer an introductory GCLM presentation at https://youtu.be/tHnnaRNPbXs. We conclude with a discussion of issues surrounding causal inference.
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