Social Learning and Clinical Psychology.

Self-determination theory (SDT) is a macro theory of human motivation that evolved from research on intrinsic and extrinsic motivations and expanded to include research on work organizations and other domains of life. We discuss SDT research relevant to the workplace, focusing on (a) the distinction between autonomous motivation (i.e., intrinsic motivation and fully internalized extrinsic motivation) and controlled motivation (i.e., externally and internally controlled extrinsic motivation), as well as (b) the postulate that all employees have three basic psychological needs—for competence, autonomy, and relatedness—the satisfaction of which promotes autonomous motivation, high-quality performance, and wellness. Research in work organizations has tended to take the perspectives of either the employees (i.e., their well-being) or the owners (i.e., their profits). SDT provides the concepts that guide the creation of policies, practices, and environments that promote both wellness and high-quality performanc...

Self-Determination Theory in Work Organizations: The State of a Science

Maslach Burnout Inventory Manual

A Review of Self-Determination Theory’s Basic Psychological Needs at Work

BACKGROUND
Depression, anxiety and somatization are the most common mental disorders in primary care as well as medical specialty populations; each is present in at least 5-10% of patients and frequently comorbid with one another. An efficient means for measuring and monitoring all three conditions would be desirable.


METHODS
Evidence regarding the psychometric and pragmatic characteristics of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 depression, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)-7 anxiety and PHQ-15 somatic symptom scales are synthesized from two sources: (1) four multisite cross-sectional studies (three conducted in primary care and one in obstetric-gynecology practices) comprising 9740 patients, and (2) key studies from the literature that have studied these scales.


RESULTS
The PHQ-9 and its abbreviated eight-item (PHQ-8) and two-item (PHQ-2) versions have good sensitivity and specificity for detecting depressive disorders. Likewise, the GAD-7 and its abbreviated two-item (GAD-2) version have good operating characteristics for detecting generalized anxiety, panic, social anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. The optimal cutpoint is > or = 10 on the parent scales (PHQ-9 and GAD-7) and > or = 3 on the ultra-brief versions (PHQ-2 and GAD-2). The PHQ-15 is equal or superior to other brief measures for assessing somatic symptoms and screening for somatoform disorders. Cutpoints of 5, 10 and 15 represent mild, moderate and severe symptom levels on all three scales. Sensitivity to change is well-established for the PHQ-9 and emerging albeit not yet definitive for the GAD-7 and PHQ-15.


CONCLUSIONS
The PHQ-9, GAD-7 and PHQ-15 are brief well-validated measures for detecting and monitoring depression, anxiety and somatization.

Iconography : The Patient Health Questionnaire Somatic, Anxiety, and Depressive Symptom Scales: a systematic review

Self-determination theory proposes a multidimensional conceptualization of motivation comprising autonomous and controlled forms. Whereas autonomous motivation relates positively to individuals’ optimal functioning (e.g., well-being, performance), controlled motivation is less beneficial. To be able to use self-determination theory in the field of organizational behaviour, the Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale was developed and tested using data from 3435 workers in seven languages and nine countries. Factorial analyses indicated that the 19-item scale has the same factor structure across the seven languages. Convergent and discriminant validity tests across the countries also indicate that the psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness as well as the theoretically derived antecedents to work motivation (e.g., leadership and job design) are predictably related to the different forms of motivation, which in turn are predictably related to important work outcomes (e.g., well-being, commitment, performance, and turnover intentions). Implications for the development of organizational research based on self-determination theory are discussed.

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The Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale: Validation evidence in seven languages and nine countries

Somatic symptom burden, or the experience of physical symptomatology without a medical explanation, is related to functional disability and poor quality of life. The consequences of somatic symptom burden extend beyond the individual and affect society, as manifested in higher medical utilization and lower job productivity. Using self-determination theory, we posited that employees' perceptions of managerial support for basic psychological needs may be associated with lower levels of somatic symptom burden among employees, in part because such contexts promote autonomous self-regulation (a type of motivation) at work. Also, we posited that somatic symptom burden among employees would explain some of the relations of managerial need support and autonomous self-regulation at work to indices of work-related functioning, namely emotional exhaustion, turnover intention and absenteeism. Results from 287 Norwegian employees confirmed these hypotheses. These findings not only identify a theoretical mechanism that...

Cathrine Westbye

Papers

The Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale: Validation evidence in seven languages and nine countries

Managerial support for basic psychological needs, somatic symptom burden and work-related correlates: A self-determination theory perspective

Multidimensional Work Motivation Scale