SELF-DETERMINATION THEORY

Psychologists Edward Deci and Richard Ryan presented the Self-Determination Theory for the first time in 1985. Self-Determination Theory is a theory that focuses on the types of motivation, not the amount of motivation. Edward Deci and Richard Ryan explained their theory with these words; “Self-Determination means acting with a sense of choice, will and commitment and is based on intrinsic motivation and integrated extrinsic motivation” (Deci & Ryan, 2010).

The psychologists who introduced the Self-Determination Theory thought that behaviorism did not take into account the complex thinking structures of people. At this point, they underlined that motivation is a very important element for behavior and stated that there is more than one type of motivation. The two most important types of motivation that the Self-Determination Theory focuses on are autonomous and controlled motivation.

Autonomous motivation; It names what we do when we have a sense of willingness, will, and choice. If people do an activity with feelings of interest, enjoyment, and value, they are autonomously motivated. When people are autonomously motivated, their performance, psychological and physical health, and commitment are better than when they are controlled.

Controlled motivation is doing something to get reward or avoid punishment. If a person feels pressured, demanded, and compelled to do it, they are motivated in a controlled way.

Self-Determination Theory stated that there are two types of autonomous motivation. These are intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

Intrinsic motivation, as the name suggests, comes from within. Intrinsic motivation is to do something because we are interested in it, we think it suits us, or we think it will be fun. For example, a person who plays basketball has this motivation because he enjoys playing and thinks this sport is suitable for him.

Extrinsic motivation means that we do a behavior because of the consequences of external sources such as reward or punishment. For example, it is extrinsic motivation for a child to attend a drawing class because his parents will reward him with a new bike. In this case, extrinsic motivation is a type of controlled motivation. However, Richard Ryan has made a significant breakthrough that extrinsic motivation can be autonomous. Richard Ryan said that people sometimes internalize extrinsic motivations in some way. In this case, a person can be motivated autonomously by owning and internalizing that extrinsic motivation. For example, let's consider the kid who went to a drawing class to win a new bike award. If this child starts to enjoy the drawing course he attends after a while and finds it suitable for himself, he will be autonomously motivated.

Self-Determination Theory states that people have some basic psychological needs. Among these basic needs, there are three concepts that Self-Determination Theory particularly emphasizes: autonomy, competence and relatedness. According to the theory, people who can satisfy these needs in a healthy way have a positive psychology. People who cannot meet these needs face negative psychological consequences.

Autonomy; It is the name given to the need to feel control over one's own life by one's own will and choice. If people feel that they have lost control over their own lives, they enter into a number of negative moods. Thus, Self-Determination Theory emphasizes that autonomy is a universally human need.

  A person at some point in his life wants to feel successful, effective and competent about any subject. This need to feel effective and competent is called competence. In order to meet this need, people engage in various activities such as getting a job, learning a language, attending courses, and acquiring a hobby.

Humans are social creatures by nature and they need feelings of belonging, importance and commitment throughout their lives. This need is called relatedness. Concepts such as kinship and friendship are important for relatedness. It is one of the most basic and important needs of a person to be cared for and to be cared for by someone else, or to be in a group and feel belonging to that group.

Motivation is needed in all areas of life, such as home, school, workplace, health, safety, sports. Whether we are parents, teachers or bosses, if we want to produce effective motivation, we have to meet and support the psychological needs of the person in front of us, which form the basis of Self-Determination Theory. If we are parents, we must provide these conditions for our children and support their needs, and if we are a boss and want to encourage the most effective motivation, we must support these psychological needs of our employees. At this point, Self-Determination Theory has a very important role in every aspect of life.