Self-determined motivation to choose college majors, its antecedents, and outcomes: A cross-cultural investigation

The choice of college majors is an important career decision for many contemporary youths. Based on self-determination theory, we propose that the self-determined motivation underlying youths' choice of major is critical for their optimal functioning, performance and well-being in college. We also propose that the effects of a self-determined choice of major is mediated by the self-determined motivation to study and that the self-determined choice of major is predicted by autonomy-supportive parenting and individual differences in autonomous functioning. Structural equation modeling results obtained from college students in two studies (N = 146 and 479) showed that (1) these hypotheses were supported using both cross-sectional and longitudinal designs and subjective and objective measures; (2) these structural relationships received support and were invariant for both Chinese and American students; (3) Chinese students scored significantly lower on various variables related to self-determination than American students; and (4) several direct predictive effects were also identified beyond the model we proposed. We suggest that future studies could improve the psychometric quality of measurements, conduct in-depth cross-cultural comparisons, and expand the current model with additional variables. Implications for parenting and career counseling practices are also discussed. •Self-determined motivation to choose a major predicts positive outcomes in college.•Motivation to study mediates the effect of motivation to choose major.•Parenting styles and individual differences predict motivation to choose major.•The conclusions apply across Eastern and Western populations.•Chinese students are significantly less self-determined.