Self-Determination Theory: The facilitation of social development, wellness, and intrinsic motivation. (Essay Sample)

Self-Determination Theory: The facilitation of social development, wellness, and intrinsic motivation.
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Introduction
Self-determination theory is an organismic and empirically-based theory of personal development and human behavior (Ryan & Deci, 2017). It primarily deals with the different social conditions that prevent or facilitate human flourishing. It examines how cultural, social, and biological conditions enhance or inhibit the intrinsic human capacities for wellness, engagement, and psychological growth in both general and specific endeavors and domains. The theory it is concerned with the natural positive human predisposition to grow, where the three core facilitators for growth comprise of competence, relatedness, and autonomy (Ryan & Deci, 2000). Therefore, it critically evaluates the intrinsic factors of individual development that facilitate social integration, well-being, motivation, and vitality, as well as those that lead to antisocial behaviors, fragmentation, depletion, and unhappiness. The theory paper addresses how self-determination theory (SDT) facilitates social development, wellness, and intrinsic motivation in individuals.
Major theorists associated with self-determination theory
SDT was advanced by Edward Reci and Richard Ryan, renowned psychologists and researchers who studied on the subject of motivation in 1970s to 1980s (O’Hara, 2017). Ryan is widely regarded as an expert in the field of psychology where he has been ranked among the top one percent of human motivation theorists in the modern era. Among his many professional titles include clinical psychologist, author, motivational consultant, and a professor of research at University of Rochester. He is also a professor at Australian Catholic University where he teaches psychology and education. Ryan holds a Bachelor of Arts from University of Connecticut and is also an alumnus of University of Rochester where he studied for a PhD in clinical psychology. He has won several awards for his work on different fields such as personal meaning, motivation, and self-identity. His scholarly work has been cited widely having authored more than 400 books and papers with the most popular book being Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior, which is co-written by Edward L. Deci (Zeigler-Hill & Shackelford, 2019).