Self-Determination Theory
Over three decades ago, psychologist Edward L. Deci began studying human motivation. Since then, his research and collaborations with fellow psychologist Richard M. Ryan, combined with the research of countless others, has given us a framework within which we can come to understand human motivation. This framework, called Self-Determination Theory, developed out of the study of extrinsic (external) and intrinsic (internal) rewards, the two forces that motivate us. So why, specifically, are we motivated to do something? Self-Determination Theory attributes it…