Relationship Between Teachers' Interpersonal Behavior and Students' Motivation to Form and Maintain Relationships with Their Teachers

Abstract Research on specific teacher behaviors that influence students' initiative to form relationships with them is scarce. Applying the self‐determination theory perspective, this study examined the relationship between teachers' need‐supportive or need‐thwarting behaviors and students' motivation to form and maintain relationships with their teachers. A total of 408 junior high school students were surveyed using the Japanese version of the Interpersonal Behaviors Questionnaire and the Motivation Scale for Forming and Maintaining Relationships with Teachers. Structural equation modeling was used to separately examine models wherein teachers' need‐supportive and need‐thwarting behaviors are related to students' motivation to form and maintain relationships with their teachers. The main findings were that (a) teachers' “competence support” and “relatedness support” positively relate to students' “intrinsic regulation” and “identified regulation”; (b) teachers' “autonomy thwarting” positively relates to students' “introjected regulation” and “external regulation”; and (c) teachers' “relatedness thwarting” negatively relates to students' “intrinsic regulation” and “identified regulation.” This study revealed some specific teacher behaviors related to students' motivation to form and maintain relationships with their teachers from a self‐determination theory perspective.