Providing and receiving of autonomy support promotes self-efficacy and value for group activities in university and the workplace

This study examined a path model linking the providing and receiving of autonomy support to performance in intellectual group activities, through self-efficacy, social self-efficacy, and value, by comparing university students and working adults. Participants comprised 181 university students and 295 working adults who completed an online questionnaire consisting of psychological measurements. The students included 118 women and 63 men (first-year, 40; second-year, 40; third-year, 55; fourth-year, 46). The working adults were employed full-time and included 77 women, with an average of 12.68 years of employment. The hypothesized path model showed a good enough fit in the multi-group structural equation modeling analysis. The positive paths from providing of autonomy support to self-efficacy (student, β = 0.56; adults, β = 0.31), social self-efficacy (student, β = 0.37; adults, β = 0.37), and value (student, β = 0.39; adults, β = 0.33), and those from receiving autonomy support to social self-efficacy (student, β = 0.28; adults, β = 0.22) and value (student, β = 0.32; adults, β = 0.31), were significant for both groups. Moreover, significant positive paths were found from the receiving of autonomy support to self-efficacy (β = 0.29), and from values to performance levels (β = 0.18) in working adults. Positive paths from self-efficacy (student, β = 0.40; adults, β = 0.58) and social self-efficacy (β = 0.40) to performance levels were significant for both groups, and among university students, respectively. This suggests the possibility and necessity of implementing path model-based practices in universities and workplaces.