Author(s)

Miki Terada^1*, Taishi Kawamoto²

¹Otemae University, Hyogo, Japan.
²The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.

Rejection sensitive people often experience interpersonal difficulties, resulting in dissatisfaction with their need for relatedness. However, whether they are satisfied with their autonomy and competence, or experience difficulties from these factors other than in interpersonal relationships, remains largely unexplored. This study examined the influence of rejection sensitivity and need satisfaction (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) on learning strategy and self-efficacy. We found that competence satisfaction mediates the relationship between rejection sensitivity and self-efficacy. In addition, hierarchical regression analysis revealed a significant three-way interaction of rejection sensitivity, autonomy, and competence satisfaction with learning strategy. Competence satisfaction has a positive effect when individuals have low rejection sensitivity and are satisfied with autonomy need, whereas autonomy satisfaction has a positive effect when individuals have high rejection sensitivity and are dissatisfied with their competence levels. This suggests that autonomy and competence satisfaction levels are important for the understanding of psychological difficulties in rejection sensitive individuals.

Rejection Sensitivity, Self-Efficacy, Learning Strategy, Autonomy, Competence, Relatedness

Terada, M. and Kawamoto, T. (2017) Rejection Sensitivity, Self-Efficacy, and Learning Strategy: Mediating and Moderating the Role of Basic Needs Satisfaction. Psychology, 8, 449-462. doi: 10.4236/psych.2017.83028.