Does Physical Environment Contribute to Basic Psychological Needs? A Self-Determination Theory Perspective on Learning in the Chemistry Laboratory
Summary (4 min read)
1. Introduction
- In recent years, the broadening field of research on the role of motivation and emotions in learning has produced important new information on how to optimally arrange the study environment (see e.g.
- This study examines the role of the physical environment in supporting learning and basic psychological needs.
- These issues are focal in both learning environments and environments dedicated to other purposes, such as work or recreation.
2.1 Basic psychological needs
- This is a macro-theory of human motivation, personality development and well-being that focuses especially on volitional behavior and the surrounding conditions that support it (Ryan, 2009).
- In the decades following the formal introduction of the theory in the 1980s, research on the theory has dramatically increased.
- More specifically, the satisfaction of basic psychological needs is relative to the activity and functioning pursued; needs may be seen to specify necessary nutriments with regard to healthy development and vitality as well as constructive and creative outputs (Deci & Ryan, 2002).
2.2 The learning environment
- Similarly to the research on the basic psychological needs, research on learning environments has mainly focused on the social learning environment while the physical learning environment has for the most part been ignored.
- These kinds of views stress the role of the social learning environment in the development of professional abilities, yet neglect the physical environments in which the social activity takes place.
- Research on learning environments has shown that the physical environment conveys assumptions (Beard, 2012; Beard & Price, 2010) and activates students’ previous assumptions regarding similar environments (Mälkki, Sjöblom & Lonka, 2014).
- Along with the idea of socially and physically distributed cognition (Hakkarainen, Palonen, Paavola & Lehtinen, 2004; Hutchins, 2000, 2006), physical environments also vary with regard to the degree they facilitate the activity that is expected to take place in them.
- The space may be equipped with modern technology and devices that assist the learning process, which makes the learning process markedly different from one that is carried out without any needed assistance, such as calculators, to begin with.
2.3 The context of the study: exploring the basic psychological needs in a chemistry laboratory
- In their study the authors focus on beginning university chemistry students’ learning, in particular on their experiences during laboratory work, in order to unveil the dynamics between physical environment and basic psychological needs.
- Namely, the physical laboratory environment, which includes not only desks and chairs but also the diverse and complex laboratory instrumentation, is especially focal in learning chemistry.
- Furthermore, sense of autonomy and competence are expected to develop in a study context, which, similarly to a working environment, represents a performance-oriented environment.
- In their view, it is important to look more closely at the emerging sense of relatedness with regard to the study community and the physical premises, and more generally, to the professional field.
- This is not the case for all of the students who drop out of their chemistry studies.
3. The aims of the study
- This study explored the role of the physical environment with regard to learning from the perspective of basic psychological needs.
- Aligned with the theory of basic psychological needs, the authors postulated that the satisfaction of these needs is not a goal as such, but rather a facilitator with regard to productivity and well-being.
- Rather than focusing on individual experiences regarding the core needs, their emphasis was on exploring the dynamics of the phenomenon on a more theoretical level.
- While much of the research on motivation is based on self-report questionnaires in order to measure individuals’ views and beliefs, classroom observations and interviews can provide a richer depiction of situated motivation (Wigfield, Cambria & Eccles, 2012).
4.1 Participants
- The participants of the study were beginning-stage chemistry students (n=21, representing both genders) from a Finnish university.
- The participants were selected based on their willingness to participate as well as the appropriate timing of their current laboratory project; in other words, participation in the interview and selection for a particular focus group also depended on whether they were able to leave their laboratory work for an hour to complete the interview.
4.2 Materials
- The data consists of focus group interviews and questionnaires that were completed by each participant individually before entering the interview.
- By having the students complete the questionnaire individually before entering the interview, the authors aimed at giving the students the space to reflect on the topics based on their own experience and perspective first, and the views could then be elaborated further in the group.
- The following rounds of analysis focused on elaborating specifically on this approach with continued iterative individual and collaborative rounds.
- The previous study shed light on the role of the physical space in the learning process:.
- The authors main focus was on the dynamics between the physical environment and the experiences of the learner rather than on a purely deductive approach driven by an emphasis on testing the theory.
5. Results
- In the following sections the authors will focus on how the three core needs, autonomy, competence and relatedness (Ryan & Deci, 2002), manifest in relation to the physical environment and the learning context.
- As their approach stretches the theory of psychological needs out of its usual sphere of application, the authors employed an abductive approach to be open to dynamics of the phenomenon that are not readily conceptualized in self-determination theory.
- For analytical clarity, the authors will in the following first examine each dimension individually, and secondly they will discuss how these dimensions are intertwined in the data.
5.1 Autonomy
- 1.1 Physically mediated guidance and the use of modern technological devices in supporting students’ sense of autonomy Within the context of learning and instruction, the issue of autonomy is often regarded to predominantly concern the balance between the control over one’s work and the received guidance, which is usually seen as socially mediated.
- As for the laboratory as a physical entity, guidance may be seen not merely as socially mediated but also as physically mediated (Sandström, Sjöblom, Mälkki & Lonka, 2013; Hutchins, 2006); information may be embedded in the physical space itself.
- On the other hand, a lack of needed information or tools provided by the physical environment can reduce one’s prerequisites for performing various tasks, either practical or intellectual, in the space.
- In contrast, if a student is not capable of navigating independently in the space without constantly asking for information on the most basic level, this can be harmful not only for the process of learning but also for the sense of autonomy experienced by the student.
- It is awfully great to get to use things that you never have before.
5.2 Competence
- The importance of practical conditions on intellectual and emotional functioning: Ergonomics, usability and the fluency of the activity in the physical environment.
- If the prerequisites for accomplishing a task are not taken care of and the environment does not provide the needed procedural facilitation, the student cannot experience him- or herself as competent in the given physical environment.
- And special and new equipment too, that you get to familiarize yourself a little with, you wonder what to do with them and they look completely strange, and you have absolutely no clue what to do with them.
- The challenges of competent functioning in the complex physical environment: Providing cognitive structuring and procedural facilitation in the space itself.
5.4 Conclusions on the intertwinedness of the basic psychological needs within the context of
- Above the authors have considered the needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness as separate dimensions.
- Physically mediated guidance should be more widely acknowledged and utilized in communicating information on a basic level, such as where to find needed equipment or dispose of substances, whereas social guidance is needed in the more complex cognitive processing.
- The physical environment may complement the students’ existing competence and offer procedural facilitation for their learning processes.
- Flexible, diverse and freely accessible spaces should be available for students in order to accommodate the variety of study activities as well as support students’ sense of autonomy and relatedness.
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...Comparing the present results with previous studies about learning environments and basic psychological needs (Sjöblom et al., 2016), the stakeholder reports reflected human basic needs on various levels....
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...Academic communities often over-emphasise competence and autonomy (Ryan and Deci, 2002), whereas basic psychological needs such as sense of safety and belonging are seldom taken into consideration (Sandström et al., 2016; Sjöblom et al., 2016)....
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...Sjöblom et al. (2016) discussed the psychological basic needs (such as relatedness and competence; see e.g. Deci and Ryan, 2008; Gay et al., 2011) in the context of a physical learning JCRE 22,1 2 environment, concluding that the fulfilment of the needs might be a prerequisite for a sense of…...
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...In terms of the theory of flow (Csíkszentmihályi, 1988; see also Inkinen et al., 2013), if the challenges of the task are considerably higher than the students’ abilities to respond to them, the students are at risk of experiencing predominantly worry and anxiety, which does not facilitate their…...
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...In terms of the theory of flow (Csíkszentmihályi, 1988; see also Inkinen et al., 2013), if the challenges of the task are considerably higher than the students’ abilities to respond to them, the students are at risk of experiencing predominantly worry and anxiety, which does not facilitate their learning or wellbeing....
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...…refers to a felt sense of confidence and effectance in one’s own actions (Ryan & Deci, 2002), and relatedness refers to feeling connected and having a sense of belonging with regard to both other individuals and with one’s community (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Ryan, 1995; Ryan & Deci, 2002)....
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...Autonomy refers to perceiving oneself as the origin or source for one’s own behavior (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Connell, 1989; Ryan & Deci, 2002, 2006), competence refers to a felt sense of confidence and effectance in one’s own actions (Ryan & Deci, 2002), and relatedness refers to feeling connected and having a sense of belonging with regard to both other individuals and with one’s community (Baumeister & Leary, 1995; Ryan, 1995; Ryan & Deci, 2002)....
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...They are “the origin or source for one’s own behavior” (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2002), and the more they can autonomously direct their study-related behavior in meaningful ways, the more they themselves are in control of the learning process....
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...On the other hand, in other occasions, such as with children or adolescents who are at risk of dropping out of school, it may be most crucial to support the experience of relatedness (E. Deci, personal communication with the first author, October 28, 2014)....
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...While the developers of the theory strongly emphasize the importance of all three needs as well as the synergy between them, depending on the nature of the activity, relatedness, for instance, may at times be less central to intrinsic motivation than autonomy and competence (Deci & Ryan, 2000)....
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...In particular, the need for autonomy and the possibilities to support it have acquired much needed attention in the context of learning and instruction (see | F L R 20 e.g. Jang, Reeve & Deci, 2010; Niemiec & Ryan, 2009; Soenens, Sierens, Vansteenkiste, Goossens & Dochy, 2012; Vansteenkiste et al., 2012)....
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...…the need for autonomy and the possibilities to support it have acquired much needed attention in the context of learning and instruction (see | F L R 20 e.g. Jang, Reeve & Deci, 2010; Niemiec & Ryan, 2009; Soenens, Sierens, Vansteenkiste, Goossens & Dochy, 2012; Vansteenkiste et al., 2012)....
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Frequently Asked Questions (2)
Q2. What future works have the authors mentioned in the paper "Does physical environment contribute to basic psychological needs? a self-determination theory perspective on learning in the chemistry laboratory sjöblom, kirsi" ?
This may derive from the fact that the laboratory as a space offered them a direct connection to their possible future job in the laboratory, and thus they were constantly mirroring their everyday laboratory chores to the expectations of the profession: an independent role in a laboratory, possibly working alone or as the only chemist on the premises. As the profession of a chemist can be seen not only as an academic profession but also as handicraftmanship, the relation between the future profession and the novice stage courses is much closer than in many other academic fields in which the first years of studies are often mainly filled with theoretical courses. As the students experience the laboratory environment as closely representing their future workplace and mirror their actions to their future role as a professional, it is particularly important to pay attention to how the initial experiences of working as a chemist in a laboratory setting are built. Informal environments may promote more sense of belonging and ownership in novice students ; the possibility to act in a professional work environment may bridge the gap between the rookie and professional stages and also bring a sense of meaning and purpose to the studies.