motivation to engage in tasks, such as course assignments, is based on the individual’s perceived levels of the innate psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness (Deci and Ryan Citation2000; Ryan and Deci Citation2017). Autonomy refers to feelings of independence and choice (often to pursue one’s interests and values) and freedom from external control (Liu, Wang, and Deci Citation2016). Competence refers to feelings of skill and a sense that one can improve and succeed (Deci et al. Citation1991).
As a psychologist I find myself thinking about motivation, autonomy, and competence as very useful; the relatedness I could see varying based on students' perceived psychological safety.