Self-Determination

The term self-determination is a motivational concept that has been explicated primarily in relation to self-determination theory (SDT), proposed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan. To be self-determined is to endorse one's actions with a full sense of choice and volition. When self-determined, individuals experience a sense of freedom to do what is interesting, personally important, and vitalizing; they experience themselves as self-regulating agents of their own behavior. Thus, self-determination signifies the experience of choice and endorsement of the actions in which one is engaged. Autonomy and autonomous motivation are terms that are frequently associated with the concept of self-determination. Although autonomy is often equated to independence in the Western world, that is not the meaning it carries within SDT. Rather, it means concurring with ...