When effects of the universal psychological need for autonomy on health behaviour extend to a large proportion of individuals: a field experiment.

Objective: Based on tenets of self-determination theory, the present manuscript examined the hypothesis that a physical activity intervention programme that supported the universal psychological need for autonomy would motivate a large proportion of young individuals to engage in physical activity. In contrast, we hypothesized that interventions that did not support the universal psychological need for autonomy would motivate a smaller proportion of young individuals to endorse the physical activity programme.

Method: A field experiment was conducted.