Peer Support Among Online Students: The Role of Belongingness and Self-Motivation

The research for this article aimed to study spontaneous mutual aid behaviours among learners engaged in an e-learning system. In particular, it examined whether the feeling of belonging to a group exerted an influence on these aid behaviours. The other objective, linked to the previous one, was to verify whether such behaviours had an influence on students' degree of self-determination to training. The results of this research revealed that, for these students, the feeling of belonging to a group constitutes a motivational lever to develop supportive behaviours mainly based on altruism and comfort. These behaviours constitute, in turn, motivational support to continue in training.