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Correlational findings

Study Sheldon & Elliot (1999): study US 1994 /1

Public
18+ aged, students USA, followed 3 months,199?
Sample
Respondents
N = 152
Non Response
Assessment
Questionnaire: Paper & Pencil Interview (PAPI)
T1 + T5: in-class questionnaires T2 - T4: questionnaires within lab sessions

Correlate

Authors's Label
Autonomy need satisfaction
Our Classification
Error Estimates
α=.77
Remarks
T2-T4: Assessed 3 times during 3 month semester
Distribution
BASELINE M=5.26, SD=1.29; SEMESTER M=4.29, SD=1.63
Operationalization
T1 BASELINE AUTONOMY-NEED SATISFACTION
Selfreport on sigle question: "the extent to which you are having this type of experiences in your life, at present:
- feeling generally autonomous and choiceful in what I do"

Rated 1 (very little) to 7 (very much)

T2-T4 SEMESTER AUTONOMY-NEED SATISFACTION
Participants free listed the three activities they had spent the most time performing during the preceding 24hr, excluding eating or sleeping

Rated why they did each activity in terms of 4 reasons:
a "you pursue this striving because somebody else wants you to or because the situation demands it." (external reason)
b "you pursue this striving because you would feel ashamed, guilty, or anxious if you didn't."(introjected reason)
c "you pursue this striving because you really believe it's an important goal to have." (identified reason)
d "you pursue this striving because of the fun and enjoyment that it provides you." (intrinsic reason)

Rated on 1 (not at all for this reason) to 7 (very much for this reason)

Summation: Average of the 9 autonomy ratings, respectivly

Autonomy = (d+e)-(a+b)

Observed Relation with Happiness

Happiness Measure Statistics Elaboration / Remarks M-AO-cm-mq-vt-7-a r = +.46 p < .01 T1 happiness and T1 feeling of autonomy M-AO-cm-mq-vt-7-a r = +.32 p < .01 T5 happiness and T1 feeling of autonomy M-AO-cm-mq-vt-7-a Beta = +.16 p < .05 T1 happiness by T1 feeling of autonomy
Beta controlled for:
- T1 competence
- T1 relatedness
M-AO-cm-mq-vt-7-a r = +.37 p < .01 T1 happiness and T2-T4 averaged feelings of autonomy M-AO-cm-mq-vt-7-a r = +.47 p < .01 T5 happiness and T2-T4 averaged feelings of autonomy M-AO-cm-mq-vt-7-a Beta = +.21 p < .05 T5 happiness by T2-T4 averaged feelings of autonomy
Beta controlled for:
- T1 happiness (indicating CHANGE in happiness)
- semester competence
- semester relatedness

T1 feelings of autonomy do not predict later change in happiness


Happiness assessed at: T1: at beginning of semester, T5: 3 months later