The Need to Experience Something New: Novelty as a Basic Psychological Need in University Students

The purpose of the current research was to investigate novelty as a potential basic psychological need (BPN) by investigating whether novelty met the essentiality (essential for overall growth and well-being) and universality (fulfillment or frustration can predict humans’ well-being across all demographics and cultures) criteria of a BPN. To this end, we tested a path model of relations between perceived novelty, the established BPNs (autonomy, competence, relatedness), and two growth and well-being outcomes: intrinsic motivation and transformative experience. We tested this model with a U.S. university student sample, representing an individualistic culture (Study 1), and a Kuwaiti university student sample, representing a collectivist culture (Study 2). In both studies, we found evidence for novelty meeting the essentiality criteria in that the direct paths from perceived novelty to the growth and well-being outcomes were statistically significant. The consistency of this finding across the two samples provides preliminary support for the universality of novelty. However, we could not directly compare U.S. and Kuwaiti results in a single model due to a lack of measurement invariance. Thus, the universality claims are tentative. These results suggest that novelty may function like a BPN for university students, and supporting novelty needs may foster beneficial educational outcomes.