Self-Determination

Control versus Autonomy

In defining what self-determination is, it seems very useful to also explore both what it is and what it is not in order to highlight its main components. As mentioned, self-determination involves being autonomous, fully endorsing one's actions, and doing what one wants to do because the activity is interesting and pleasurable (like flying a kite) or because it is [Page 890]perceived as valuable (doing an important work project). Being self-determined is associated with a sense of vitality, energy, happiness, well-being, and enjoyment. When self-determined, people often report feelings of flow while engaged in the activity and display the capacity to stay involved and engaged with it. Self-determination contrasts with control, with feeling pressured, coerced, or seduced. Self-determination is not doing something because someone else makes you, nor is it doing something to get someone else's approval. It is not doing something in order to get a prize, a reward, or some other external incentive, for those are all examples of being controlled. Being controlled or non-self-determined is associated with feelings of pressure, whether it comes from external demands or from internal threats of guilt.

The total absence of self-determination is embodied in what is called amotivation, which represents a total lack of motivation for an activity. As part of SDT, Ryan and Deci proposed various types of motivation that can be aligned along a continuum of increasing self-determination or perceived autonomy in performing an activity. The various forms of motivation are presented from left to right in increasing degree of self-determination, from the least self-determined (amotivation) to the most self-determined (intrinsic motivation). External regulation and introjection are considered controlled forms of motivation and therefore not self-determined. In contrast, identification, integration, and intrinsic motivation are considered to be autonomous forms of motivation and therefore self-determined. This entry considers each of these concepts in turn.

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