Although self-determination (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2002, 2008), self-efficacy (Bandura, 1977, 2003, 2005), and autotelism (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975, 1990, 2005) often refer to it, these three theories struggle to define the role of the collective in learning motivation. With reference to the integrative model of motivation (Fenouillet, 2009), this dissertation attempts to combine these theories while postulating that psychological well-being entails a social dimension which impacts students' academic success.

This work is based on 7 studies conducted on more than 800 college students preparing for a competitive exam used to recruit public sector primary school teachers. Findings suggest that whereas "working alone" appears conducive to failure, "working in a group," with or without the use of Internet, does not necessarily favor success. Hence, it would appear that the form of group work is not a condition but a consequence of individual activity (Carré, 2005).

The main contributions of this research include :
- an enhanced understanding of flow and of psychological well-being in the educational context ;
- insight into the nature of individually motivated collective functioning, notably the personal and collective conditions necessary for the emergence of well-being ;
- a new theoretical model in which well-being is a point of convergence that brings together self-determination, self-efficacy, and autotelism.

While shedding light on certain optimizing conditions of the relationship between educational training systems and the personal dispositions of students, this study opens prospects for future research in the area of teacher education and adult continuing education and contributes to the development of pedagogical research in higher éducation (De Ketele, 2010).