Question

Deci and Ryan (1985, 2001) have proposed that there are three fundamental needs that are required for human growth and fulfillment: relatedness, autonomy, and competence. Susan predicts that students who have these needs met in their psychology class feel happier and more satisfied with the class. She collects data and finds that students who feel more related and competent do feel happier but that feeling more autonomous does not seem to matter. Susan thinks that maybe autonomy is only necessary when people are in situations in which they are not being evaluated. Susan’s hypothesis was not completely supported by her data. What does this mean?

Answer 1

C) The theory may need to be amended.

Step-by-step explanation:

According to a different source, these are the options that come with this question:

A) Susan must have collected the data incorrectly.

B) The theory is completely wrong.

C) The theory may need to be amended.

D) Susan must have analyzed the data incorrectly.

In this case, Susan tried to create a hypothesis based on the research performed by Deci and Ryan (1985, 2001). However, when she went about trying to prove this hypothesis, it was not completely supported by data. This does not mean necessarily that the data was wrong, that the analysis was wrong, or that the research should be dismissed. However, what it means is that the theory may need to be amended.