Evidence for Enrol help #

Every substantive claim on the Enrol help page is checked against current research. Here is each claim, how well today’s evidence supports it, and the sources. The full, de-duplicated source list lives on the references page.

Supported · strong evidence — Feeling connected to other people in a learning effort (relatedness) is one of three basic psychological needs that underpin durable motivation.

Relatedness is one of the three basic needs (with autonomy and competence) in self-determination theory, one of the most extensively replicated frameworks in motivation science across domains and cultures; basic psychological need theory restates and extends this in 2026.

Sources: Ryan & Deci (2000), Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being, American Psychologist — https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68 · Vansteenkiste, Ryan & Soenens (2020), Basic psychological need theory: Advancements, critical themes, and future directions, Motivation and Emotion — https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-019-09818-1 · full reference ›

Supported · moderate evidence — Social connection and support — a study partner, class or community — helps a learner sustain motivation and keep going, whereas learning in isolation tends to erode persistence.

Satisfaction of the relatedness need supports internalisation and sustained motivation in self-determination theory; the effect on persistence is real but generally somewhat weaker and more context-dependent than autonomy and competence, hence moderate.

Supported · strong evidence — Motivation that is genuinely self-endorsed (the goal is one you would want even if no one were watching) is more durable than motivation driven mainly by other people’s expectations or external pressure.

A central, well-replicated finding of self-determination theory is that autonomous (self-endorsed) motivation predicts greater persistence and better performance and wellbeing than controlled motivation driven by external pressure; this supports the page’s caution that public commitment is a nudge rather than an engine.

Mixed · weak evidence — Making a goal public or committing to it in front of others provides a motivational nudge that can help a learner act on days they might otherwise skip, but it does not reliably sustain effort on its own.

Evidence on public commitment and accountability is genuinely mixed: such external prompts can boost short-term follow-through but, consistent with self-determination theory, controlled motivation borrowed from others’ expectations is weaker for long-term persistence than self-endorsed motivation. The page’s framing of commitment as a bridge for bad days rather than a primary driver matches this nuanced picture.

Supported · moderate evidence — Learning material in order to teach it, and then actually teaching it to others, produces better understanding and retention for the teacher than studying the same material only for oneself.

Fiorella and Mayer (2013) found students who actually taught material learned more than those who only studied it, and a broader learning-by-teaching literature (e.g. Kobayashi 2019 meta-analysis) supports the effect; the benefit is reliable but moderated by whether teaching involves genuine generative explanation rather than mere recitation.

Sources: Fiorella, L., & Mayer, R. E. (2013), The relative benefits of learning by teaching and teaching expectancy, Contemporary Educational Psychology 38(4) — https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2013.06.001 · Kobayashi, K. (2019), Learning by preparing-to-teach and teaching: A meta-analysis, Japanese Psychological Research 61(3) — https://doi.org/10.1111/jpr.12221 · full reference ›

Supported · moderate evidence — Helping others learn (teaching, mentoring, contributing to a group) requires retrieving and reorganising the material, which reinforces the helper’s own knowledge while also supporting motivation through involvement and contribution.

The teacher’s learning gain is attributed by Fiorella and Mayer (2013) and the tutoring literature (Roscoe & Chi 2007) to generative, knowledge-building explanation—retrieving and integrating ideas for an audience—which both consolidates the helper’s knowledge and, consistent with the relatedness and competence needs of self-determination theory, can support motivation.

Sources: Fiorella, L., & Mayer, R. E. (2013), The relative benefits of learning by teaching and teaching expectancy, Contemporary Educational Psychology 38(4) — https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2013.06.001 · Roscoe, R. D., & Chi, M. T. H. (2007), Understanding tutor learning, Review of Educational Research 77(4) — https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654307309920 · full reference ›