Edward L. Deci

Abstract Self-determination theory (SDT) maintains that an understanding of human motivation requires a consideration of innate psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness. We discuss the SDT concept of needs as it relates to previous need theories, emphasizing that needs specify the necessary conditions for psychological growth, integrity, and well-being. This concept of needs leads to the hypotheses that different regulatory processes underlying goal pursuits are differentially associated with effective functioning and well-being and also that different goal contents have different relations to the quality of behavior and mental health, specifically because different regulatory processes and different goal contents are associated with differing degrees of need satisfaction. Social contexts and individual differences that support satisfaction of the basic needs facilitate natural growth processes including intrinsically motivated behavior and integration of extrinsic motivations, whereas those that forestall autonomy, competence, or relatedness are associated with poorer motivation, performance, and well-being. We also discuss the relation of the psychological needs to cultural values, evolutionary processes, and other contemporary motivation theories.

A meta-analysis of 128 studies examined the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. As predicted, engagement-contingent, completion-contingent, and performance-contingent rewards significantly undermined free-choice intrinsic motivation (d = -0.40, -0.36, and -0.28, respectively), as did all rewards, all tangible rewards, and all expected rewards. Engagement-contingent and completion-contingent rewards also significantly undermined self-reported interest (d = -0.15, and -0.17), as did all tangible rewards and all expected rewards. Positive feedback enhanced both free-choice behavior (d = 0.33) and self-reported interest (d = 0.31). Tangible rewards tended to be more detrimental for children than college students, and verbal rewards tended to be less enhancing for children than college students. The authors review 4 previous meta-analyses of this literature and detail how this study's methods, analyses, and results differed from the previous ones.

I. Introduction 1. Self-Determination Theory: An Introduction and Overview II. Philosophical and Historical Considerations 2. Organismic Principles: Historical Perspectives on Development and Integration in Living Entities 3. Human Autonomy: Philosophical Perspectives and the Phenomenology of Self 4. Psychological Needs: Varied Concepts and a Preliminary Description of Self-Determination Theory's Approach 5. A Brief History of Intrinsic Motivation III. The Six Mini-Theories of Self-Determination Theory 6. Cognitive Evaluation Theory, Part I: The Effects of Rewards, Feedback, and Other External Events on Intrinsic Motivation 7. Cognitive Evaluation Theory, Part II: Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Processes Affecting Intrinsic Motivation 8. Organismic Integration Theory: Internalization and the Differentiation of Extrinsic Motivation 9. Causality Orientations Theory: Individual Differences in, and Priming of, Motivational Orientations 10. Basic Psychological Needs Theory: Satisfaction and Frustration of Autonomy, Competence, and Relatedness in Relation to Psychological Wellness and Illness 11. Goal Contents Theory: Aspirations, Life Goals, and Their Varied Consequences 12. Relationships Motivation Theory: The Self in Close Relationships IV. Motivation and Human Development in Families, Schools, and Societies 13. Parenting and the Facilitation of Autonomy and Well-Being in Development 14. Schools as Contexts for Learning and Social Development 15. Identity Development, Self-Esteem, and Authenticity 16. Development, Psychological Needs, and Psychopathology V. The Application and Practice of Self-Determination Theory in Multiple Domains 17. Psychotherapy and Behavior Change: Creating Facilitating Environments 18. Health Care and Patient Need Satisfaction: Supporting Maintained Health Behavior Change 19. Sport, Physical Activity, and Physical Education 20. Motivation and Need Satisfaction in Video Games and Virtual Environments 21. Work and Organizations: Promoting Wellness and Productivity VI. Basic Psychological Needs in Pervasive Social Contexts 22. Pervasive Social Influences, Part I: Cultural Contexts 23. Pervasive Social Influences, Part II: Economic and Political Systems 24. On Basic Needs and Human Natures: Altruism, Aggression, and the Bright and Dark Sides of Human Motivation A Very Brief Epilogue References Author Index Subject Index

Research testing self-determination theory was discussed in terms of recent work on intrinsic motivation, participative management, and leadership. On three occasions, managers' interpersonal orientations—toward supporting subordinates' self-determination versus controlling their behavior— were related to perceptions, affects, and satisfactions of the subordinates. Data from 23 managers and their subordinates in a major corporation showed that managers' orientations did correlate with the subordinate variables, although the magnitude of the relation varied, seemingly as a function of factors in the corporate climate. An organizational development intervention, focused on the concept of supporting subordinates' self-determination, was provided for the managers. Evaluation of the program showed a clearly positive impact on managers' orientations, though a less conclusive radiation to subordinates. To be self-determining means to experience a sense of choice in initiating and regulating one's own actions. Recent research linking self-determination to, enhanced creativity (Amabile, 1983), conceptual learning (Benware & Deci, 1984), self-esteem (Deci, Schwartz, Sheinman, & Ryan, 1981), and general well-being (Langer & Rodin, 1976) has stimulated psychologists to clarify the antecedent conditions that promote self-determination and to detail the relevance of self-determination to various applied settings. Concepts related to self-determination have been vigorously researched and discussed in the organizational literature for over a quarter century. Argyris (1957) and McGregor (1960), for example, stressed that organizational contexts providing workers the opportunity to satisfy their higher order needs (Maslow, 1943) promote effective performance. Furthermore, management styles (e.g., Likert, 1967; Marrow, Bowers, & Sea

Studies in 2 work organizations tested a self‐determination theory based model in which employees' autonomous causality orientation and their perceptions of their managers' autonomy support independently predicted satisfaction of the employees' intrinsic needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness, which in turn predicted their performance evaluations and psychological adjustment. Path analysis indicated that the self‐determination theory model fit the data very well and that alternative models did not provide any advantage.

This prospective study applied self-determination theory to investigate the effects of students' course-specific self-regulation and their perceptions of their instructors' autonomy support on adjustment and academic performance in a college-level organic chemistry course. The study revealed that: (1) students' reports of entering the course for relatively autonomous (vs. controlled) reasons predicted higher perceived competence and interest/enjoyment and lower anxiety and grade-focused performance goals during the course, and were related to whether or not the students dropped the course; and (2) students' perceptions of their instructors' autonomy support predicted increases in autonomous self-regulation, perceived competence, and interest/enjoyment, and decreases in anxiety over the semester. The change in autonomous self-regulation in turn predicted students' performance in the course. Further, instructor autonomy support also predicted course performance directly, although differences in the initial level of students' autonomous self-regulation moderated that effect, with autonomy support relating strongly to academic performance for students initially low in autonomous self-regulation but not for students initially high in autonomous self-regulation. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Sci Ed 84:740–756, 2000.

Past studies in U.S. work organizations have supported a model derived from self-determination theory in which autonomy-supportive work climates predict satisfaction of the intrinsic needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness, which in turn predict task motivation and psychological adjustment on the job. To test this model cross-culturally, the authors studied employees of state-owned companies in Bulgaria, a country that has traditionally had a central-planning economy, a totalitarian political system, and collectivist values. A sample from a privately owned American corporation was used for comparison purposes. Results using structural equation modeling suggested that the model fit the data from each country, that the constructs were equivalent across countries, and that some paths of the structural model fit equivalently for the two countries but that county moderated the other paths.

Over the past twenty years, an increasing number of researchers from various universities have been investigating motivational issues underlying the self-regulation of behavior. Using either Self-Determination Theory or closely related theoretical perspectives, these researchers have performed laboratory experiments, as well as field studies in a variety of real-world settings, including education, work, parenting, health care, sport, and protection of the environment. In April 1999, thirty of these researchers convened at the University of Rochester to present their work, share ideas, and discuss future research directions. The Handbook of Self-Determination Research is an outgrowth of that important and fascinating conference. It summarizes the research programs of these social, personality, clinical, developmental, and applied psychologists who have a shared belief in the importance of self-determination for understanding basic motivational processes and for solving pressing real-world problems. Eighteen chapters, including an overview of self-determination theory, present the current state of the research in this scientifically rigorous, yet highly relevant, approach to studying motivational problems in various life domains. Researchers from eighteen universities in the United States, Canada, and Germany present concise and up-to-date accounts of their research programs concerned with the self-determination of human behavior. In these chapters, scholars also consider the relevance of the research on self-determination to other areas of inquiry such as coping, self-esteem, and interest. Edward L. Deci and Richard Ryan are professors of psychology in the University of Rochester's Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology.

The finding that extrinsic rewards can undermine intrinsic motivation has been highly controversial since it first appeared ( Deci, 1971 ). A meta-analysis published in this journal (Cameron & Pierce, 1994) concluded that the undermining effect was minimal and largely inconsequential for educational policy. However, a more recent meta-analysis (Deci, Koestner, & Ryan, 1999 ) showed that the Cameron and Pierce meta-analysis was seriously flawed and that its conclusions were incorrect. This article briefly reviews the results of the more recent meta-analysis, which showed that tangible rewards do indeed have a substantial undermining effect. The meta-analysis provided strong support for cognitive evaluation theory (Deci & Ryan, 1980), which Cameron and Pierce had advocated abandoning. The results are briefly discussed in terms of their relevance for educational practice.

In this article we suggest that events and contexts relevant to the initiation and regulation of intentional behavior can function either to support autonomy (i.e., to promote choice) or to control behavior (i.e., to pressure one toward specific outcomes). Research herein reviewed indicates that this distinction is relevant to specific external events and to general interpersonal contexts as well as to specific internal events and to general personality orientations. That is, the distinction is relevant whether one's analysis focuses on social psychological variables or on personality variables. The research review details those contextual and person factors that tend to promote autonomy and those that tend to control. Furthermore, it shows that autonomy support has generally been associated with more intrinsic motivation, greater interest, less pressure and tension, more creativity, more cognitive flexibility, better conceptual learning, a more positive emotional tone, higher self-esteem, more trust, greater persistence of behavior change, and better physical and psychological health than has control. Also, these results have converged across different assessment procedures, different research methods, and different subject populations. On the basis of these results, we present an organismic perspective in which we argue that the regulation of intentional behavior varies along a continuum from autonomous (i.e., self-determined) to controlled. The relation of this organismic perspective to historical developments in empirical psychology is discussed, with a particular emphasis on its implications for the study of social psychology and personality.

This study examined a process model of relations among children's perceptions of their parents, their motivation, and their performance in school. Children's perceptions of their parents on dimensions of autonomy support and involvement were measured with the new children's perceptions of parents scale. Three motivation variablesmcontrol understanding, perceived competence, and perceived autonomymwere hypothesized to mediate between children's perceptions of their parents and their school performance. Analyses indicated that perceived maternal autonomy support and involvement were positively associated with perceived competence, control understanding, and perceptions of autonomy. Perceived paternal autonomy support and involvement were related to perceived competence and autonomy. In turn, the 3 motivation variables, referred to as inner resources, predicted children's performance. Structural equation modeling generally supported the mediational model.

(2000). The Darker and Brighter Sides of Human Existence: Basic Psychological Needs as a Unifying Concept. Psychological Inquiry: Vol. 11, No. 4, pp. 319-338.

The assertion that both the content of goals and the motives behind goals affect psychological well-being has been controversial. Three studies examined this issue directly, showing that both what goals people pursue (i.e., whether they strive for extrinsic vs. intrinsic goal contents) and why people pursue them (i.e., whether they strive for autonomous vs. controlled motives) make significant independent contributions to psychological well-being. The pattern emerged in between-person and within-person studies of cross-sectional well-being and also emerged in a year-long study of prospective change in well-being. Implications for prescriptive theories of happiness are discussed.

This study tested whether students who learned with an active orientation would be more intrinsically motivated to learn and would learn more than students who learned with a passive orientation. The active orientation was created by having subjects learn material with the expectation of teaching it to another student; the passive orientation was created by having subjects learn the same material with the expectation of being tested on it. The results indicate that subjects who learned in order to teach were more intrinsically motivated, had higher conceptual learning scores, and perceived themselves to be more actively engaged with the environment than subjects who learned in order to be examined. The two groups were equal, however, in their rote learning scores. The effects of exposure to the material were ruled out as an explanation because the two groups reported spending equal time with the material. The results are discussed in terms of intrinsic motivation theory.

Self-determination theory proposes that behavior change will occur and persist if it is autonomously motivated. Autonomous motivation for a behavior is theorized to be a function both of individual differences in the autonomy orientation from the General Causality Orientations Scale and of the degree of autonomy supportiveness of relevant social contexts. We tested the theory with 128 patients in a 6-month, very-low-calorie weight-loss program with a 23-month follow-up. Analyses confirmed the predictions that (a) participants whose motivation for weight loss was more autonomous would attend the program more regularly, lose more weight during the program, and evidence greater maintained weight loss at follow-up, and (b) participants' autonomous motivation for weight loss would be predicted both by their autonomy orientation and by the perceived autonomy supportiveness of the interpersonal climate created by the health-care staff.

Yoked pairs of subjects solved puzzles such that one member of each pair was given choice about what puzzles to work on and how much time to allot to each, while the yoked subject was assigned the same puzzles and time allotments as those chosen by the first subject. It was predicted and found that subjects who chose the activities and time allotments -in other words, who had additional self-determination--would be more intrinsically motivated than subjects doing the same activity without choice.

Abstract Vitality, or the energy available to the self, is a salient and functionally significant indicator of health and motivation. Previous models (e.g., Baumeister & Vohs, 2007 ) have suggested how such energy can be depleted but have focused less on how it can be maintained or enhanced. In this article, we describe a model of energy and vitality based on self‐determination theory ( Ryan & Deci, 2000 ). We review substantial evidence that, whereas the self‐controlling regulation of behavior depletes vitality and energy, the autonomous self‐regulation of behavior does not. A growing number of experimental and field studies also suggest that vitality and energy are enhanced by activities that satisfy basic psychological needs for relatedness, competence, and autonomy. Lifestyles focused on extrinsic goals are less conducive to need satisfaction and thus engender less vitality. We conclude that social psychological factors associated with need satisfaction have important implications for health and vitality and for informing interventions.

The concepts of self-regulation and autonomy are examined within an organizational framework. We begin by retracing the historical origins of the organizational viewpoint in early debates within the field of biology between vitalists and reductionists, from which the construct of self-regulation emerged. We then consider human autonomy as an evolved behavioral, developmental, and experiential phenomenon that operates at both neurobiological and psychological levels and requires very specific supports within higher order social organizations. We contrast autonomy or true self-regulation with controlling regulation (a nonautonomous form of intentional behavior) in phenomenological and functional terms, and we relate the forms of regulation to the developmental processes of intrinsic motivation and internalization. Subsequently, we describe how self-regulation versus control may be characterized by distinct neurobiological underpinnings, and we speculate about some of the adaptive advantages that may underlie the evolution of autonomy. Throughout, we argue that disturbances of autonomy, which have both biological and psychological etiologies, are central to many forms of psychopathology and social alienation.

Recent research in the United States suggests that individuals who strongly value extrinsic goals (e.g., fame, wealth, image) relative to intrinsic goals (e.g., personal growth, relatedness, community) experience less well-being. This study examines such goals in university samples from two cultures—the United States and Russia. Participants (N = 299) rated the importance, expectancies, and current attainment of 15 life goals, including 4 target intrinsic and 4 target extrinsic goals. Results confirmed the relevance of the intrinsic-extrinsic distinction for both samples and that stronger importance and expectancies regarding extrinsic goals were negatively related to well-being, although these effects were weaker for Russian women. Furthermore, for both men and women, perceived attainment of intrinsic goals was associated with greater well-being, whereas this was not the case for perceived attainment of extrinsic goals.

Physicians used either an autonomy-supportive or a controlling interpersonal style to counsel smokers based on National Cancer Institute guidelines. Physician autonomy support was rated from audiotapes, and patients' perceived competence and autonomous motivation for quitting were self-reported on questionnaires. Validated point prevalences for 6, 12, and 30 months and for continuous cessation were examined. The intervention did not have a direct effect on quit rates; however, structural equation modeling supported the self-determination process model of smoking cessation. The model indicated that the autonomy-supportive intervention was rated as more autonomy supportive, that rated autonomy support predicted autonomous motivation, and that autonomous motivation predicted cessation at all points in time. Perceived competence contributed independent variance to cessation only at 6 months.

Attachment research has traditionally focused on individual differences in global patterns of attachment to important others. The current research instead focuses primarily on within-person variability in attachments across relational partners. It was predicted that within-person variability would be substantial, even among primary attachment figures of mother, father, romantic partner, and best friend. The prediction was supported in three studies. Furthermore, in line with self-determination theory, multilevel modeling and regression analyses showed that, at the relationship level, individuals' experience of fulfillment of the basic needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness positively predicted overall attachment security, model of self, and model of other. Relations of both attachment and need satisfaction to well-being were also explored.

Effects on intrinsic motivation of three elements of the competitive situation (viz., competitive set, competitive outcome, and inter-personal context) were explored. Participants solved puzzles with a same-sex confederate under one of five experimental inductions, and intrinsic motivation was assessed by subsequent free-choice behavior and self-reports of interest/enjoyment. As predicted by cognitive evaluation theory, competitive outcome(viz., winning vs. losing) and interpersonal context (viz., pressured vs. nonpressured) affected intrinsic motivation. Path analyses showed that (a) winning (relative to losing) increased intrinsic motivation by enhancing perceived competence and (b) a pressured (relative to nonpressured) interpersonal context decreased intrinsic motivation by diminishing perceived self-determination. Further, competence valuation-the importance one places on doing well-related positively to perceived competence, perceived self-determination, and intrinsic motivation.

Males and females solved interesting puzzles in the presence of a same-sex confederate who posed as a second subject doing the same activity. Half the subjects were instructed to compete against each other (i.e., to try to solve the puzzles faster than the other person) while half were simply instructed to work as quickly as they could so as to finish in the allotted time. The results showed a significant main effect in which competition decreased intrinsic motivation. 7his was particularly true for females.

Many managers and academics have a passing familiarity with self-determination theory (SDT), which articulates the core principles that underlie the concept of sustainable motivation in organisations. But far fewer understand how to successfully implement a SDT intervention in the face of organisational pressure for short-term accountability and performance. We present the core principles of SDT, describe the principles that underlie successful SDT-based interventions, propose six steps (i.e. actions) that facilitate the creation of autonomous motivation, articulate the obstacles to successful implementation, and present two examples of successful organisational implementations.

Self-determination theory (SDT) assumes that humans have inherent propensities to be intrinsically motivated, to assimilate their social and physical worlds, to integrate external regulations into self-regulations, and in so doing integrate themselves into a larger social whole. This chapter concerns the relation of imposed rewards to these evolved propensities toward autonomy and homonomy. It examines evidence concerning the potential of contingent rewards to undermine self-regulatory propensities, desensitize individuals to their basic needs, and disrupt awareness and choice, all to the detriment of healthy development. Subsequently, it turns to an examination of the effects of rewards on organismic processes, interpreting the results in terms of the interface between rewards and basic psychological needs. Under this, it takes into consideration, the effects of rewards on intrinsic motivation. The chapter also focuses on the reward effects on other organismic processes, such as prosocial behavior, and to a discussion of real-world implications. Finally, it explores the general issue of reward effects from the personality perspective of individual differences in motivational orientations and life goals.

Self-determination theory was applied to explore the motivational basis of adherence to long-term medication prescriptions. Adult outpatients with various diagnoses who had been on a medication for at least 1 month and expected to continue (a) completed questionnaires that assessed their autonomous regulation, other motivation variables, and perceptions of their physicians' support of their autonomy by hearing their concerns and offering choice; (b) provided subjective ratings of their adherence and a 2-day retrospective pill count during an interview with a clinical psychologist; and (c) provided a 14-day prospective pill count during a subsequent, brief telephone survey. LISREL analyses supported the self-determination model for adherence by confirming that patients' autonomous motivation for adherence did mediate the relation between patients' perceptions of their physicians' autonomy support and their own medication adherence.

If you reward your children for doing their homework, they will usually respond by getting it done. But is this the most effective In psychology publisher's weekly recommended, read with life is also excellent. Deci assumes that this book because people may be able to behave in carrying out. He she relates well as possible, to understand than religious terminology. Explaining the semester is a book incorporated into book.

To introduce this special issue, we overview self-determination theory (SDT) as it is applied to physical activity, sport, and health. SDT distinguishes intrinsic and extrinsic motivations for physical activities, and specifies separate mini-theories addressing the nature, determinants, and consequences of each. Cognitive evaluation theory (CET) details the central role of intrinsic motivation in both sport and physical activity, and the impact of autonomy and competence supports in promoting people's intrinsic motivation. Organismic integration theory (OIT) describes different forms of extrinsic motivation that vary in their relative autonomy, affecting both persistence and performance. OIT suggests that more internalized extrinsic goals, being more volitional, are better maintained over time. We also review basic psychological need theory (BPNT), which specifies the role of autonomy, competence, and relatedness satisfaction in facilitating and sustaining motivation, and the impact of intrinsic (e.g., health) and extrinsic (e.g., attractiveness) goals in physical activity. We then outline a SDT perspective on vitality and its depletion, including new research on how contact with nature can enhance subjective energy. We conclude by discussing field research, including controlled clinical trials, testing the efficacy of SDT-based interventions in the promotion of physical activity, and other health-related outcomes.

To test the self-determination model of health-related behavior by examining whether the degree to which adolescents experience an appeal to not smoke as autonomy supportive would affect their autonomous motivation for not smoking and, in turn, their behavior of either refraining from smoking or smoking less, and to validate the measures of perceived autonomy support and autonomous motivation for not smoking.Two studies of physicians presenting information about not smoking using 2 message styles, 1 of which was designed to be more autonomy supportive. The preliminary study involved nonrandomized assignment to message style and only immediate assessment of perceptions, motivation, and behavior, while the primary study involved randomized assignment and 4-month longitudinal assessments.Nearly 400 ninth- through 12th-grade students at 2 suburban high schools in upstate New York.Adolescents' perceptions of the presentations' autonomy supportiveness of the presenters, as well as adolescents' autonomous motivation for not smoking and their self-reports of smoking. The primary study also assessed change in students' autonomous motivation and change in their self-reported smoking during 4 months.In both studies, the measures were reliable and valid. Students perceived significantly (P = .04 and P<.001, respectively) greater autonomy support in the "It's Your Choice" presentation, after controlling for whether the students were smokers. Perceived autonomy supportiveness of the presentation was positively correlated with autonomous reasons for not smoking in the preliminary study and with increases in autonomous motivation for not smoking in the primary study. Change in autonomous reasons for not smoking significantly (P<.001) predicted reduction in smoking during 4 months.When adolescents perceived messages about not smoking as autonomy supportive, they had more autonomous motivation for not smoking, and that, in turn, predicted a decrease in their self-reports of smoking.

Es werden die Grundzuge einer Theorie vorgestellt, die den Zusammenhang zwischen Motivation und Lernen auf der Basis einer Theorie des Selbst neu interpretiert. Dabei wird gezeigt, das sowohl intrinsische als auch bestimmte Formen extrinsischer Motivation als selbstbestimmt erlebt werden. Empirische Befunde aus Labor- und Felduntersuchungen belegen, das eine auf Selbstbestimmung beruhende Lernmotivation positive Wirkungen auf die Qualitat des Lernens hat. Daruber hinaus last sich zeigen, das die soziale Umwelt in Schule und Familie an der Entstehung selbstbestimmter Motivation erheblichen Anteil hat. Einige Schlusfolgerungen fur die padagogische Praxis werden zur Diskussion gestellt. (DIPF/Text ubernommen) The authors present the main features of a theory that gives a new interpretation of the link between motivation and learning on the basis of a theory of the self. It is shown that both intrinsic and certain forms of extrinsic motivation are experienced as self-determined. Empirical findings from laboratory and field studies demonstrate that learning motivation based on self-determination has a positive impact on the quality of learning. Furthermore, it can be shown that the social environment of both school and family plays an important role in the development of self-determined motivation. In a final paragraph, the authors discuss consequences for pedagogical practice. (DIPF/Orig.)

Over 450 students (136 elementary, 321 junior and senior high school) with primary handicapping codes of learning disability (LD) or emotional handicap (EH) completed several questionnaires. All participants were from self-contained classrooms of a state-operated special education system. Questionnaires assessed students' self-perceptions and perceptions of home and classroom contexts, with all variables theoretically reflecting either the competence or the autonomy aspects of internal motivation or students' personal adjustment. Math and reading standardized achievement test scores were obtained from school records. Using multiple regression analyses, students' achievement and adjustment were predicted from the motivationally relevant self-perception and perception-of-context variables. Interestingly, different patterns of relations emerged for the students with LD and EH.

Despite many recent technical breakthroughs in health care, human behaviour remains the largest source of variance in health-related outcomes (Schroeder, 2007). People’s health and well-being are robustly affected by lifestyle factors such as smoking, hygiene, diet, and physical activity, all of which involve behaviours that are potentially controllable by the individual. In addition, outside of acute care settings, the effectiveness of most health care interventions is highly dependent on the patient’s adherence to self-care activities such as taking medications, performing self-examinations, or refraining from specific activities or habits. A significant problem is the poor adherence to prescribed changes or recommended behaviours over time.

In this chapter the authors discuss modern conceptions of happiness, including hedonic and eudaimonic perspectives. They distinguish happiness as a symptom rather than sine qua non of well-being, and they relate the later to the human capability for autonomous self-regulation. Using a self-determination framework they define autonomy and detail its essential functional role in allowing individuals within any culture to satisfy basic psychological needs for competence and relatedness, and thus to attain psychological well-being and happiness. The chapter also highlights how capacities for autonomous self-regulation, although evolved and “natural” to all humans, are dependent on both proximal (e.g., familial, interpersonal) and distal (political, cultural, economic) supports, and as how need thwarting aspects of social environments can undermine autonomy and wellness.

Self-determination Theory (SDT) is a motivational theory of personality, development, and social processes that examines how social contexts and individual differences facilitate different types of motivation, especially autonomous motivation and controlled motivation, and in turn predict learning, performance, experience, and psychological health. SDT proposes that all human beings have three basic psychological needs – the needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness – the satisfaction of which are essential nutrients for effective functioning and wellness. Satisfaction of these basic needs promotes the optimal motivational traits and states of autonomous motivation and intrinsic aspirations, which facilitate psychological health and effective engagement with the world.

Abstract Self‐determination theory (SDT) maintains that the adequate support and satisfaction of individuals' psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness promotes the gradual unfolding of individuals' integrative tendencies, as manifested through intrinsic motivation, internalization, identity development, and integrative emotion regulation. At the same time, the thwarting of these same psychological needs and the resultant need frustration is presumed to evoke or amplify a variety of psychopathologies, many of which involve autonomy disturbances. We begin by defining what autonomy involves and how socializing agents, particularly parents, can provide a nurturing (i.e., need‐supportive) environment, and we review research within the SDT literature that has shed light on various integrative tendencies and how caregivers facilitate them. In the second part of this chapter, we detail how many forms of psychopathology involve autonomy disturbances and are associated with a history of psychological need thwarting. We especially focus on internally controlling regulation in internalizing disorders; impairments of internalization in conduct disorders and antisocial behavior; and fragmented self‐functioning in borderline and dissociative disorders. The role of autonomy support as an ameliorative factor in treatment settings is then discussed among other translational issues. Finally we highlight some implications of recognizing the important role of basic psychological needs for both growth‐related and pathology‐related processes.

This chapter discusses the paradox of achievement that harder you push, the worse it gets. The chapter says that people can be motivated in more controlled ways or more self-determined ways, with intrinsic motivation and well-integrated extrinsic motivation being the bases for self-determination. By encouraging students' experimentation and self–initiation, teachers can foster students' willingness to take on challenges, explore new ideas, persist at difficult activities, and feel good about themselves. The chapter reviews an array of evidence suggesting that intrinsic motivation and the internalization of extrinsic motivation flourish in situations of secure relationships that provide opportunities for need satisfaction. By offering optimal challenges, providing feedback that is not evaluative of the person, giving a meaningful rationale for requested behavior, acknowledging feelings, providing greater choice, and setting up co-operative learning opportunities, teachers can foster students' self-determination. Moreover, by taking account of teachers' needs along with the students' needs, it is possible to begin implementing the types of widespread school reform that, although more difficult than simply emphasizing higher standards and using tougher tests, is nonetheless the most promising prospect we have for bringing about excellent education.

Cameron and Pierce’s (1994) conclusion that rewards do not pose a threat to intrinsic motivation is a misrepresentation of the literature based on a flawed meta-analysis. Their call to abandon cognitive evaluation theory is more an attempt to defend their behaviorist theoretical turf than a meaningful consideration of the relevant data and issues.

The performance of anyone at his or her job is affected by a combination of ability and motivation. This book brings together papers which represent work being done in the study of motivation. There are three main approaches to the subject. The first is paternalistic in nature and assumes that the more a worker is rewarded, the harder he will work. The second approach assumes that a person will be motivated to work if rewards and penalties are tied directly to his performance. The third approach is called participative management in which the incentives for effective performance are in the job itself or in the individual's relationship with members of his working team.

If the LD field is to make important breakthroughs in coming years, it must avoid becoming insular and parochial. There are important ideas to be gleaned from the work of individuals not enmeshed with the specific problems we confront everyday. Individuals outside the LD field can bring fresh perspectives that allow us to see beyond the boundaries of our current frameworks and procedures. They often see what's missing and suggest important connecting links to improve the way we understand and deal with learning disabilities. As an example of the potential value of soliciting outside viewpoints, we asked Edward Deci and his colleague Cristine Chandler to read over the papers included in the series of articles on “The Future of the LD Field” and to analyze and comment on our field's future from the perspective of Deci's distinguished work on human psychology. The result is a provocative discussion that first reviews the papers in the future series with reference to definition, etiology, prevention, and treatment, and then suggests that a key element missing in most of the presentations is a sophisticated and systematic concept of human motivation. Deci and Chandler offer a brief outline of basic psychological concepts not widely discussed in the LD field and apply these concepts with regard to both the treatment of learning disabilities and to the processes used to support and supervise the efforts of teachers. Their analysis and ideas have profound implications for LD theory, research, and practice, and warrant careful attention from those concerned with advancing the field.—Howard S. Adelman and Linda Taylor, Guest Editors

Abstract Little children love to play and to learn. They are active, curious, and eager to engage their environments, and when they do they learn. To some extent adults also love to play and to learn. When people are playing and learning in this eager and willing way, they are intrinsically motivated. Throughout life, when they are in their healthiest states, they are active and interested, and the intrinsically motivated behaviors that result help them acquire knowledge about themselves and their world.

Abstract Early psychological scientists interested in the regulation of behavior focused primarily on reinforcements such as tangible rewards that were said to strengthen the associative bonds that regulated people's behavior (Hull, 1943; Skinner, 1953). An associative bond is a hypothetical construct represented as a mechanistic link between some type of stimulus and a particular response, which then prompts the response when that stimulus is present. With reinforcements and associative bonds as the determiners of behavior, people's thoughts were said to be irrelevant to the causes of behavior.

Field studies investigating self-determined motivation in relation to learning strategy use and its educational outcomes in physical education are lacking.The purpose of the present study was therefore to test a Self-Determination Theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000) process model of learning strategy use as it related to participation and performance in physical education courses in eighth through tenth grades.In this model, autonomy support from teachers was hypothesized to be positively related to basic psychological need satisfaction.In turn, need satisfaction was expected to be positively related to autonomous motivation and perceived competence, both of which should be positively related to learning strategy use.Finally, learning strategy use was hypothesized to be positively related to the level of participation and the performance (i.e., grades) in physical education courses.Structural equation modeling supported the SDT process model.All indirect links in the structural model were also significant.

In Study 1, participants who read about an extrinsically motivated target expected that task engagement would be less enjoyable and associated with less positive affect and that there would be poorer quality of interpersonal relations, compared with participants reading about an intrinsically motivated target. These effects were reversed when additional information disconfirmed initial perceptions of the target's motivation. In Study 2, participants who were taught a skill by an extrinsically motivated (paid) target reported lower interest in learning and lower task enjoyment than those taught by an intrinsically motivated (volunteer) target, despite receiving identical lessons and learning to the same criterion level. Lower levels of interest, task enjoyment, and positive mood "infected" a second learner when the first participant attempted to teach him or her the same skill. Results support a model linking social perception, expectancy formation, and motivational orientations toward activities.

This article distinguishes between hedonic and eudaimonic approaches to wellness, with the former focusing on the outcome of happiness or pleasure and the latter focusing not so much on outcomes as on the process of living well. We present a model of eudaimonia that is based in self-determination theory, arguing that eudaimonic living can be characterized in terms of four motivational concepts: (1) pursuing intrinsic goals and values for their own sake, including personal growth, relationships, community, and health, rather than extrinsic goals and values, such as wealth, fame, image, and power; (2) behaving in autonomous, volitional, or consensual ways, rather than heteronomous or controlled ways; (3) being mindful and acting with a sense of awareness; and (4) behaving in ways that satisfy basic psychological needs for competence, relatedness, and autonomy. In fact, we theorize that the first three of these aspects of eudaimonic living have their positive effects of psychological and physical wellness because they facilitate satisfaction of these basic, universal psychological needs. Studies indicate that people high in eudaimonic living tend to behave in more prosocial ways, thus benefiting the collective as well as themselves, and that conditions both within the family and in society more generally contribute toward strengthening versus diminishing the degree to which people live eudaimonic lives.

Human beings have fundamental psychological propensities toward growth, integrity, and wellness. Yet, historically, many approaches to motivation have ignored these inner propensities, focusing instead on how external contingencies shape expectancies and behaviors. This chapter reviews recent work in <italic>self-determination theory</italic>, an organismic approach in which people’s intrinsic, growth-oriented propensities are a central focus. Self-determination theory argues that people have basic psychological needs to experience competence, autonomy, and relatedness to others. Satisfaction of these basic needs facilitates autonomous motivation and wellness, whereas the frustration of these needs contributes to ill-being and is associated with lower quality, and often highly controlled, forms of motivation. Autonomous and controlled forms of motivation differ in their antecedents, neurological underpinnings, and outcomes. Although most of the experimentation and evidence base of self-determination theory has focused on proximal relationships (e.g., families, dyads, classrooms, teams, or workgroups), recent research is extending self-determination theory to address pervasive contexts (e.g., cultural or economic systems) and how they both directly and indirectly affect need satisfaction and motivation, thereby impacting people’s development and wellness. Pervasive contexts also influence people’s aspirational horizons and the life goals they pursue, further influencing both individual and community wellness. More need-supportive contexts conduce to more authentic living and intrinsic aspirations, which in turn promote more prosocial attitudes and actions and greater personal and societal wellness.

Our meta-analysis (this issue) clarified when rewards undermine, leave unchanged, and enhance intrinsic motivation and pointed out flaws in Cameron and Pierce’s (1994) meta-analysis. Cameron’s (2001) commentary did not reveal any problems with our meta-analysis, nor did it defend the validity of Cameron and Pierce’s. Instead, Cameron referred to a fourth meta-analysis by her group; little detail was presented about the new meta-analysis, but it appears to have the same types of errors as the first three. Cameron also presented a new theoretical account of reward effects—the fourth by her group, which sequentially abandoned the previous ones as they were found wanting. Cameron concluded again that there is no reason to avoid using performance-contingent rewards in educational settings, yet her application of the research results to education lacks ecological validity.

1. The Historical Development of Self-determination Theory Marylene Gagne and Edward L. Deci Part One: Conceptual Issues 2. The Importance of Universal Psychological Needs for Understanding Motivation in the Workplace Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan 3. Employee Commitment, Motivation, and Engagement: Exploring the Links John P. Meyer 4. Effective and Sustained Proactivity in the Workplace: A Self-determination Theory Perspective Karoline Strauss and Sharon K. Parker 5. A Behavioral Economics Perspective on the Overjustification Effect: Crowding-In and Crowding-Out of Intrinsic Motivation Antoinette Weibel, Meike Wiemann, and Margit Osterloh 6. Passion for Work: Determinants and Outcomes Robert J. Vallerand, Nathalie Houlfort, and Jacques Forest Part Two: Individual Considerations 7. The Foundation of Autonomous Motivation in the Workplace: An Attachment Perspective Sigalit Ronen Mario Mikulincer 8. Contingent Self-Esteem: A Review and Applications to Organizational Research D. Lance Ferris 9. Person-Environment Fit and Self-Determination Theory Gary J. Greguras, James M. Diefendorff, Jacqueline Carpenter, and Christian Troster Part Three: Organizational and Contextual Considerations 10. The Motivational Power of Job Design Marylene Gagne and Alexandra Panaccio 11. Leadership Stephanie L. Gilbert and E. Kevin Kelloway 12. Compensation and Work Motivation: Self-determination Theory and the Paradigm of Motivation through Incentives Amar Fall and Patrice Roussel 13. SDT and Workplace Training and Development Anders Dysvik and Bard Kuvaas Part Four: Outcomes of Work Motivation 14. Self-Determination and Job Stress Claude Fernet and Stephanie Austin 15. Self-Determination as a Nutriment for Thriving: Building an Integrative Model of Human Growth at Work Gretchen M. Spreitzer and Christine Porath 16. Emotional Labor through the Lens of SDT Michel Cossette 17. Understanding Why Employees Behave Safely from a Self-Determination Theory Perspective Natasha Scott, Mark Fleming, and E. Kevin Kelloway 18. Understanding Workplace Violence: The Contribution of Self-Determination Theory Veronique Dagenais-Desmarais and Francois Courcy 19. Encouraging Environmental Actions in Employees and in the Working Environment: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective Luc G. Pelletier and Nicole M. Aitken 20. Translating research results in economic terms: An application of economic utility analysis using SDT-based interventions Jacques Forest, Marie-Helene Gilbert, Genevieve Beaulieu, Philippe LeBrock, and Marylene Gagne Part Five: Domains of Application 21. Teacher Motivation Johnmarshall Reeve and Yu-Lan Su 22. At the Interface of Work and Health: A Consideration of the Health Gradient using Self-Determination Theory Maynor G. Gonzalez, Christopher P. Niemiec, and Geoffrey C. Williams 23. What is a Functional Relationship to Money and Possessions? Dan Stone 24. Future Leaders' and Lawyers' Life Values and Goals: Toward a Dual Valuing Process Model Frederick M.E. Grouzet 25. A Self-determination Theory Approach to Goals Richard Koestner and Nora Hope 26. Self-Determination Theory in the Work Domain: This is Just the Beginning Marylene Gagne

Gamification design in e-commerce ecosystems has developed rapidly, attracting scholars' and managers' attention. The E-commerce ecosystem includes multiple players, including buyers, sellers and platforms. Therefore, it is important to investigate the impact of platform gamification design on purchase behavior and explore the underlying impact mechanisms. Based on self-determination theory, three types of gamification design features (i.e., goals, personalization, and interaction) were identified and found to produce different motivational incentives among users, which satisfied consumers' needs of competence, autonomy, and socializing. Further, a structural model based on the use and gratification theory is proposed to explain the mechanism underlying the impact of gamification design on consumer purchase behavior. Data were collected and analyzed using Mplus, and theoretical and practical implications were identified.

In an experiment on the effects of different feedback conditions on motivationally relevant variables, Butler (1987) tested the hypothesis that the effects of feedback on intrinsic motivation would depend on whether that feedback promotes a task-involving or ego-involving orientation. She interpreted the findings as they relate to Nicholls's theory of task/ego involvement and our cognitive evaluation theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985). Although the data were very interesting, Butler failed to review a series of highly relevant studies, she misportrayed cognitive evaluation theory, and she drew conclusions that were not necessarily warranted given her experimental manipulations and data. This article provides a commentary on that research and presents a discussion of the relation between the two theories that Butler claimed to have tested. In a recent article, Butler (1987) attempted to the traditions of research on task/ego involvement and intrinsic/ extrinsic motivation and to provide an apparent between two current theories relevant to student motivation and performance, namely, Nicholls's (1979, 1984b) theory of ego versus task involvement and Deci and Ryan's (1980, 1985) cognitive evaluation theory. Unfortunately, the Butler article did not achieve either objective, being neither a new bridge nor an appropriate critical test. First, although unacknowledged in her article, the two areas of task/ego involvement and intrinsic/extrinsic motivation have been bridged for seven years by a series of empirical investigations and theoretical discussions. Second, her presentation has failed to provide a critical test of the theories, in part because she misrepresented cognitive evaluation theory. And third, her conclusions are subject to alternative interpretations given her specific experimental manipulations and results. In this comment, we will elaborate those three points and discuss the comparison of Nicholls's theory and ours.

Abstract Human capabilities and happiness have received increasing attention from psychologists and economists over the past half-century. Implicit in such concepts are ideas such as thriving and flourishing—ideas that involve individuals having resources and opportunities to live healthy, full, and productive lives.

According to the job demands–resources model, job demands (or hindrances) can drain energy and yield physiological and psychological costs by requiring sustained physical and/or mental effort at work. Using self-determination theory, the current study examined the associations among role conflict (as a proxy for job demands), frustration of the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, mindfulness, and employees’ health and work-related functioning. In line with hypotheses, the results revealed an indirect effect of role conflict on burnout, somatic symptom burden, and turnover intentions through basic psychological need frustration. Further, these indirect effects were moderated by mindfulness, such that the mediation by basic psychological need frustration was less evident among individuals who reported higher levels of mindfulness. Taken together, these findings contribute to a small but growing literature on the benefits of mindfulness in organizational settings.

Although for many years self-determination and intrinsic motivation were studied from an experimental perspective, only recently have they been considered from a personality perspective. A psychometric scale that has been shown to be important in that regard is the General Causality Orientations Scale (GCOS) (Deci & Ryan, 1985b), which was based on Deci and Ryan's (1985a) self-determination theory. There are three rather stable orientations toward the initiation and regulation of behaviour — the autonomy, the control, and the impersonal orientations. The autonomy orientation describes the extent to which people initiate and regulate their behaviour through choice and self-determined goals; the control orientation describes the extent to which people's behaviour is initiated or regulated by controlling inputs; and the impersonal orientation characterizes the extent to which people tend to be nonintentional because they believe they are ineffective in reliably attaining desired outcomes. The GCOS measures the extent to which people are oriented in each of these three ways. Deci and Ryan (1985b) have shown that the scale possesses reliability and validity. The purpose of this study was to 14 VALLERAND, LACOUTURE, BLAIS & DECI validate a French version of the GCOS. The French version was obtained through back-translation and committee procedures (Brislin, Lonner, & Thomdike, 1973), and then psychometric properties and construct validity of the scale were assessed by attempting to reproduce some of the findings reported by Deci and Ryan (1985b) in their validation study. In general, results obtained with the French version of the GCOS were similar to those obtained with the English version and represent an important first step toward the cultural equivalence of the French-Canadian version of the instrument.

Despite many recent technical breakthroughs in health care, human behaviour remains the largest source of variance in health-related outcomes (Schroeder, 2007). People’s health and well-being are robustly affected by lifestyle factors such as smoking, hygiene, diet, and physical activity, all of which involve behaviours that are potentially controllable by the individual. In addition, outside of acute care settings, the effectiveness of most health care interventions is highly dependent on the patient’s adherence to self-care activities such as taking medications, performing self-examinations, or refraining from specific activities or habits. A significant problem is the poor adherence to prescribed changes or recommended behaviours over time.

A key proposition of self-determination theory (SDT) is that human beings have deeply evolved psychological needs to be competent, autonomous, and related to others. In contexts where these needs are satisfied, people evidence more volitional, high-quality motivation and greater well-being. Conversely, when these needs are thwarted, people display diminished motivation and more symptoms of ill-being. This article addresses how the SDT concept of basic psychological needs differs from needs concepts in other psychological and management theories; provides empirical evidence for the validity of our approach; relates need satisfaction to autonomous motivation (i.e., intrinsic motivation and fully internalized extrinsic motivation) and controlled motivation (i.e., external and introjected forms of extrinsic motivation); explains how need satisfaction versus thwarting affects engagement and effective performance; examines how social environments, personality characteristics, and people’s long-term goals affect satisfaction versus thwarting of their basic psychological needs; and then discusses the relevance of these issues for management.

This paper investigates engagement (E), alignment (A), and rigor (R) as vital signs of high-quality teacher instruction as measured by the EAR Classroom Visit Protocol, designed by the Institute for Research and Reform in Education (IRRE). Findings indicated that both school leaders and outside raters could learn to score the protocol with adequate reliability. Using observations of 33 English language arts (ELA) teachers and 25 mathematics teachers from four high schools, findings indicated that engagement, alignment, and rigor were all predictive of math and ELA standardized achievement test scores when controlling for the previous year’s scores, although some of the associations were marginal. Students’ self-reports of their engagement in school were also generally predictive of test scores in models that included perceived academic competence and observed engagement, alignment, or rigor. We discuss the importance of classroom engagement, alignment, and rigor as markers of instructional quality and the utility of the EAR Protocol as a means of assessing instructional quality.