Mediating effect of autonomous motivation in learning

Abstract

The studies highlight the need to research the psychological mechanisms that intervene the learnings' development in the classroom. The aim of the study was to assess the mediating role of the types of regulation that compose the autonomous motivation, in the relation among the perception of autonomy support, academic satisfaction and academic performance perceived by university students. The participants were 229 first-year students from four Chilean universities. The mediating effect was assessed using the PROCESS macro for SPSS. The results indicated that both the intrinsic regulation and the identified regulation partially intervene the effect of the perception of autonomy support on academic satisfaction, but only the intrinsic regulation totally intervenes the effect on the academic performance. It is concluded that the types of autonomous regulation are mechanisms through which it is positively influenced the well-being and academic achievement of university students.