Self-Determination Theory (SDT) Has Been Concerned with Differentiating Between Types Or

The Meaning of Self in Self-Determination Theory

Edward L. Deci

University of Rochester

Self-determination theory (SDT) differentiates types or qualities of motivation rather than focusing only on the amount of motivation. Central to the theory is the distinction between autonomous and controlled motivation. Autonomous motivation involves acting with a full sense of volition and choice, and it encompasses both intrinsic motivation and well-internalized (i.e., integrated) extrinsic motivation. Controlled motivation, in contrast, involves acting with a sense of pressure or demand and includes regulation by external contingencies and by contingencies that have been partially internalized (i.e., introjected). It is only autonomously motivated behaviors that are considered fully self-determined because it is these motivations that are either innate to the active organism—that is, are part of the inherent, core self—or have been fully assimilated with the core self through the process of organismic integration.

This view of “self” implies that not all of the psychic material that motivates a person’s behavior is self-determined, because not all psychic material is well integrated with the person’s sense of self. For example, regulations that have merely been introjected are part of a person’s psychic make-up, but they have not been integrated with the self, so the behaviors they motivate are not considered self-determined. Stated differently, SDT differentiates regulations that are internal (i.e., within the person) suggesting that some emanate from the integrated self and some do not. Behaviors that are guided by regulations that emanate from the self are self-determined whereas those that are guided by introjects are not self-determined because the regulations have not been accepted by the person as his or her own.

The SDT view of self also has implications for our understanding of self-esteem. The theory differentiates true from contingent self-esteem. True self-esteem is a deeply held feeling of being worthy. People with a high level of true self-esteem do not behave in order to feel worthy; rather, they are autonomously motivated and true self-esteem is a by-product of behaviors so motivated. Contingent self-esteem, in contrast, involves behaving in order to feel worthy; it is self-esteem that results from living up to introjected standards. Thus, contingent self-esteem is inherently unstable because people with contingent self-esteem have to keep satisfying their introjects in order to feel worthy. Failure to do so plunges them into feeling unworthy.