| Description: |
In the self-determination theory (R. M. Ryan & Deci, 2017) literature, interpersonal styles by “motivators” (e.g., parents, teachers, coaches) are purported to be key influences on the motivation and functioning of the “motivatees,” the people with whom they interact (e.g., offspring, students, athletes). Hence, understanding the antecedents of these styles is important for both conceptual and applied reasons. Our objective in this review was to systematically synthesize the candidate antecedents of need supportive and need thwarting interpersonal styles. We analyzed 122 eligible studies, primarily cross-sectional, without any restrictions on life domains or research designs. Our systematic review identified 59 specific candidate antecedents, most of which we categorized into 13 general factors and three higher-order themes: sociocontextual, motivators’ personal factors, and motivators’ perceptions of motivatees’ motivation and behavior. Our meta-analysis showed that adaptive motivation factors within motivators (primarily autonomous motivation and need satisfaction) were the strongest and most consistent predictors of their provision of overall need support to motivatees, as well need-specific support (autonomy, competence, and relatedness). In contrast, maladaptive motivation (primarily amotivation and need frustration) within motivators was the most consistent and moderately strong predictor of their overall need thwarting style (and need-specific thwarting styles) when interacting with motivatees. Our review presents an integrative classification system of candidate antecedents of interpersonal styles. These could act as moderators of intervention effectiveness by influencing the degree of intervention fidelity in trials targeting need-supportive styles, or they could serve as intervention targets in their own right. |