Human Needs of SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY

Most current theories of motivation focus on goals or outcomes and on the instrumentalities that lead to these desired outcomes (e.g., Bandura, 1977; Dweck, 1986; lEkcles, 1983). Such theories are concerned with the direction of behavior (i.e., with the processes that direct behavior toward desired outcomes), but they do not deal with the question of why certain outcomes are desired. Therefore, they fail to address the issue of the energization of behavior.

Unlike these other theories, self-determination theory does address the energization issue as well as the direction issue, and it does so by postulating about basic psychological needs that are inherent in human life. The theory focuses primarily on three such innate needs: the needs for competence, relatedness, and autonomy (or self-determination). Competence involves understanding how to attain various external and internal outcomes and being efficacious in performing the requisite actions; relatedness involves developing secure and satisfying connections with others in one's social milieu; and aut.onomy refers to being self-initiating and self-regulating of one's own actions.

There are several reasons why the concept of needs, when employed in a way that involves a small number of broad, innate needs, is useful (Deci, in press). First, it gives content to human nature; in other words, it addresses whether there are motivational universals in human beings. Second, it provides a basis for drawing together and integrating a range of phenomena that might not seem connected at a superficial level. Third, and most important to this discussion, it allows one to specify the contextual (conditions that will facilitate motivation, performance, and development. Simply stated, motivation, performance, and development will be maximized within social contexts that provide people the opportunity to satisfy their basic psychological needs for competence, relatedness, and autonomy. Opportunities to satisfy any of these three needs contribute to people's being motivated (as opposed to amotivated); however, opportunities to satisfy the need for autonomy are necessary for people to be self-determined rather than controlled.