Lu, Xiang YuXiang YuLuDr. LI Wang On, AlexAlexDr. LI Wang On2026-08-032026-08-032026Lu, X. Y. & Li, W. O. (2026). Does priming basic psychological needs influence agreement to euthanasia?. 2026 Asian Conference on Applied Psychology.http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11861/28403The present study investigates how basic psychological needs factors from Self-Determination Theory (SDT) may affect Hong Kong young adults’ views on euthanasia. We hypothesise that priming autonomy, relatedness, and competence potentially influences the levels of agreement on euthanasia. 86 participants took part in a mixed-design study. Scrambledsentence tasks were used to prime the three basic psychological needs. Agreement to euthanasia was collected among six scenarios. Half the scenarios present pro-euthanasia statements, and the other half present against ones. On each side, there are three scenarios varied in pain severity and curability. The first described an incurable disease with severe pain, the second an incurable disease with mild pain, and the last a curable disease with mild pain, which roughly decreases in symptoms severity. A MANCOVA was used to analyse the data. The agreement of euthanasia is significant different across priming groups in the curable - mild pain - pro-euthanasia scenario (p = .047), after controlling for gender and age variables. Post-hoc test found that participants primed with autonomy have a higher agreement on euthanasia decision, compared to relatedness (p = .043). This difference may be attributed to priming, which increases awareness of the respective psychological needs. Priming autonomy may have directed participants’ attention toward patients’ right to make their own choice, whereas priming relatedness may have directed attention toward the interpersonal bonds that patients’ deaths would sever. The result provides partial support for how SDT affects young adults’ attitudes toward euthanasia.enConference Paper