Self-Determination Theory

Hi,

This week’s email is about insights from self-determination theory: a key psychological framework for explaining what motivates us.

Here are the key practical points you should know (mainly from this research article):

• We have three fundamental psychological needs: autonomy (being able to dictate our path), competence (being able to deal with our environment), and relatedness (feeling connected to others).

• There’s a distinction between motivation that’s autonomous (driven by our own desires) and controlled (driven by external pressures, like a boss, or internal ones, like guilt).

• There’s also a distinction between motivation that’s intrinsic (driven by a desire to engage in an activity for its own sake, for example because it’s enjoyable) and extrinsic (driven by a desire to achieve a certain outcome, like a promotion).

• We usually perform and feel better when we’re autonomously and intrinsically motivated.

• The effects of different types of motivation aren’t always additive; for example, adding an extrinsic motivator to an intrinsic one can undermine our sense of autonomy, which can reduce our willingness to act.

This can be useful for motivating both yourself and others.

As always, I’m happy to hear your thoughts.

Have a great week,
Itamar