Crystal Smit

Chapter 1 18 In recent years, self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2017), a prominent theory of human motivation, has emerged as a promising theoretical framework for interventions in health promotion (Gillison, Rouse, Standage, Sebire, & Ryan, 2019; Ng et al., 2012; Ryan, Patrick, Deci, & Williams, 2008; Teixeira et al., 2020). Self-determination theory focuses on the understanding of the social contextual factors that facilitate or undermine human motivation (Ryan & Deci, 2017). Research based on self-determination theory has amply demonstrated that intrinsic motivation, the most autonomous kind of motivation, is an essential determinant for adopting and maintaining health behavioral change (Hagger et al., 2014). Intrinsic motivation refers to the inner drive to perform a behavior, because it is inherently interesting or enjoyable (Ryan & Deci, 2000, 2017). Intrinsically motivated individuals tend to adopt and maintain healthy lifestyle patterns over the long term, such as eating healthier, consuming fruits and vegetables, and exercising (Mata et al., 2009; Pelletier, Dion, Slovinec-D’Angelo, & Reid, 2004; Silva et al., 2011; Teixeira et al., 2015). According to self-determination theory, being intrinsically motivated depends on whether the social context satisfies individuals’ three basic psychological needs: autonomy (feeling that one has ownership and choice), competence (feeling that one is capable and effective), and relatedness (feeling connected and caring for others; Deci & Ryan, 2000; Ryan & Deci, 2017). These psychological needs can be satisfied in an autonomy-supportive context which entails that meaningful rationales are provided, individuals’ perspectives are acknowledged, choices are offered, and initiatives are supported, while minimizing pressure and control (Deci & Ryan, 2000; Vansteenkiste, Simons, Lens, Sheldon, & Deci, 2004). Therefore, we used the principles of self-determination theory to guide the design and delivery of the Share H 2 O social network intervention. Specifically, in the training of the influence agents we aimed to create an autonomy-supportive context that intrinsically motivated them, and via them, their peers, to perform the behavior.