Two studies examined autonomy support within close friendships. The first showed that receiving autonomy support from a friend predicted the recipient's need satisfaction within the relationship and relationship quality as indexed by emotional reliance, security of attachment, dyadic adjustment, and inclusion of friend in self and that there was significant mutuality of receiving autonomy support and of each other variable. The relations of perceived autonomy support to need satisfaction and relationship quality held for both female-female and male-male pairs across the two studies. The second study replicated and extended the first, showing that receiving autonomy support also predicted psychological health. Furthermore, giving autonomy support to a friend predicted the givers' experience of relationship quality over and above the effects of receiving autonomy support from the friend. When both receiving and giving autonomy support competed for variance in predicting well-being, giving, rather than receiving, autonomy support was the stronger predictor.

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Classification of techniques used in self-determination theory-based interventions in health contexts: An expert consensus study. Motivation Science.

Though relatively young, the field of relationships science has an impressive body of research devoted to understanding a range of relational processes including attachment, communality, intimacy, and interdependence. However, relatively little research has examined the motivational underpinnings of these processes. Self-determination theory (SDT) offers a broad perspective on the mechanisms through which relational processes are related to personal well-being and relational functioning and the circumstances under which seemingly positive relational processes particularly result in benefits to relationships and the individuals of which they are comprised. The purpose of this review is to summarise the existing research applying SDT to relational processes and to suggest future avenues for research that will extend both relationships science and SDT.Although the study of close relationships has been fundamental to the field of psychology since its inception, the development of a formalized relationships science has only emerged over the last 25 years (Fletcher, 2002;Kelley et al., 1983;Reis, Collins, & Berscheid, 2000). Within this literature are diverse theoretical frameworks examining such processes as attachment, intimacy, communality, and interdependence. Each of these literatures has a long and rich research tradition attesting to the importance of these processes for well-being and optimal relational functioning. However, in this macrocosm of relationships research, relatively little space has been dedicated to understanding the motivational underpinnings of these processes.One such perspective has characterised relationship motivation by independent tendencies toward approach (moving toward a rewarding or desired end-state) and avoidance (moving away from a punishing undesired end-state), as well as the goals toward the formation and maintenance of social ties manifest from these motives (e.g., Gable, 2006). A second growing literature examines motivation within relationships from the self-determination theory (SDT) perspective (La Guardia, 2007a), focusing on how relational partners either support or undermine the fulfilment of basic psychological needs and how motivational orientations derived from such need fulfilment are maintained or transformed as a function of experiences within relationships.In this paper we outline how the SDT perspective provides a valuable framework for understanding the motivational underpinnings of important relational processes, such as attachment, intimacy, communality, and interdependence, and further how this motivational structure helps to predict personal growth and development. Relationships research typically focuses on how individual personality factors (e.g., attachment style) and/or situational factors (e.g., partner responsiveness) affect how important relational processes unfold (e.g., conflict resolution, intimacy) and how these exchanges impact relational functioning (e.g., commitment, satisfaction). Importantly, the incremental value of the SDT perspective is th...

Three studies examine people's willingness to rely on others for emotional support. We propose that emotional reliance (ER) is typically beneficial to well-being. However, due to differing socialization and norms, ER is also expected to differ across gender and cultures. Further, following a self-determination theory perspective, we hypothesize that ER is facilitated by social partners who support one's psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Results from the studies supported the view that ER is generally associated with greater well-being and that it varies significantly across different relationships, cultural groups, and gender. Within-person variations in ER were systematically related to levels of need satisfaction within specific relationships, over and above betweenperson differences. The discussion focuses on the adaptive value and dynamics of ER. ER and Social SupportSocial support is a broad concept that refers to the help and care that others can provide and the effects of that care on coping, health, and psychological well-being. Social support can be manifest in many forms, such as providing information, instrumental help, or Correspondence should be addressed to Richard M. Ryan,

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The present study used multilevel modeling and measures of the Big Five to test Rogers' prediction that discrepancies between ideal and actual self-concept would be negatively associated with well-being, and to test the prediction drawn from self-determination theory that partners' autonomy support would be associated with smaller discrepancies. Discrepancies and well-being were found to be negatively associated in samples from the USA, Russia, and China, but participants' actual self-concept was closer to their ideal when with autonomy supportive partners. Although there was some moderation by country membership, associations were in the same direction for all countries. Discussion focuses on the cultural and clinical implications.

Traditionally, development has been conceived as a continuous, progressive process of growth. In this seminal view, individuals are thought to elaborate and synthesize new knowledge and new capacities throughout the life span and, under healthy conditions, move toward wider integrative spans in both cognitive and social-personality functions (Ryan, 1995). The assumed trajectory toward ever more differentiation and higher order integration is even argued by some to differentiate the term development from other types of change (Blasi, 1976).This conceptualization of development is, however, increasingly being questioned. As in the field of evolution, the view that progress or growth best characterizes developmental change is being strongly criticized. Lifespan perspectives have specifically added new complexity to traditional views by emphasizing that development brings with it both changing tasks Preparation of this chapter was facilitated by Grant MH53385 from the National institute of Mental Health.