Self-Determination Theory (SDT) is a broad framework for understanding human motivation, personality development, and well-being, developed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan. It distinguishes between different types of motivation and emphasizes the role of psychological need satisfaction in optimal functioning.
At its core, SDT proposes that human behavior is regulated along a continuum from intrinsic motivation to various forms of extrinsic motivation, differing in the degree of autonomy. It also identifies three basic psychological needs – autonomy, competence, and relatedness – as essential for psychological growth and well-being.
Assessment within SDT is organized around several interrelated mini-theories, each addressing a specific aspect of motivation, need satisfaction, social context, goals, and functioning.
Basic Psychological Needs Theory focuses on the satisfaction and frustration of autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
The Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction and Frustration Scale (BPNSFS) is the primary measure assessing both satisfaction and frustration of these needs.
The Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction Scale (BPNSS) is an earlier measure of psychological need satisfaction, assessing autonomy, competence, and relatedness across general or domain-specific contexts.
The Balanced Measure of Psychological Needs (BMPN) provides an alternative assessment of basic psychological needs, distinguishing between satisfaction and frustration with a potentially more stable factor structure in some research contexts.
The Perceived Competence Scales (PCS) assess perceived effectiveness in specific domains, reflecting the competence need.
Cognitive Evaluation Theory addresses intrinsic motivation and the conditions that support or undermine it.
The Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI) is a widely used multidimensional measure assessing interest, enjoyment, perceived competence, effort, and value related to an activity.
Organismic Integration Theory describes the continuum of motivational regulation, from external and introjected regulation to identified, integrated, and intrinsic motivation. These instruments assess the quality of motivation rather than only its amount.
The Self-Regulation Questionnaires (SRQ) assess different types of behavioral regulation across domains.
The Situational Motivational Scale (SIMS) assesses momentary motivation toward a specific activity, including intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, external regulation, and amotivation.
The Global Motivation Scale (GMS-28) assesses general motivational orientations toward behavior in everyday life – three forms of intrinsic motivation, identified, introjected, and external regulation, and amotivation.
The Self-Concordant Motivation Scale assesses reasons for pursuing personal goals, distinguishing autonomous motives that reflect personal interests and values from controlled motives driven by pressure or obligation.
Domain-specific measures apply the same motivational continuum to particular activities and life contexts.
The Regulation of Eating Behavior Scale (REBS) assesses motivational regulation of eating behavior along the self-determination continuum.
The Health-Care Self-Determination Theory Questionnaire (HCSDTQ) assesses motivation, autonomy, and perceived regulation in healthcare-related contexts.
The Financial Motivation Scale (FMS) applies self-determination theory to financial behavior, assessing autonomous and controlled forms of motivation in money-related decisions.
The Motivation to Volunteer Scale (MVS) assesses autonomous and controlled motives for volunteering.
Causality Orientations Theory focuses on individual differences in how people orient toward the causes of behavior. It distinguishes autonomous, controlled, and impersonal orientations.
The General Causality Orientations Scale (GCOS) assesses autonomy-oriented, controlled, and impersonal orientations, reflecting stable patterns of motivation.
These measures assess autonomous functioning, perceived choice, self-awareness, and the experience of acting in accordance with one's values and interests. They are closely related to SDT, although not all of them correspond to a single SDT mini-theory.
The Perceived Choice and Awareness of Self Scale (PCASS) assesses subjective experience of choice and self-awareness.
The Index of Autonomous Functioning (IAF) provides a trait-level measure of autonomy, including self-congruence and resistance to external pressure.
The Self-Determination Inventory Self-Report (SDI-SR) assesses self-determination skills, including autonomy, self-regulation, psychological empowerment, and self-realization.
Goal Contents Theory distinguishes between intrinsic and extrinsic life goals. It focuses on whether people orient toward growth, relationships, community, and health, or toward external indicators such as wealth, fame, and image.
The Aspirations Index (AI) assesses the relative importance of intrinsic aspirations (e.g., relationships, growth, community) versus extrinsic aspirations (e.g., wealth, fame, image).
Relationships Motivation Theory focuses on interpersonal contexts that support or undermine psychological needs, especially autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
The Autonomy Support Questionnaire (ASQ) assesses perceived autonomy support from close others or important interpersonal figures.
The Perceived Parental Autonomy Support Scale (P-PASS) assesses parental autonomy support and controlling parenting practices.
The Perceptions of Parents Scales (POPS) assesses children's and adolescents' perceptions of parental autonomy support, involvement, and warmth.
The Parental Conditional Regard Scales (PCRS) assess parenting practices in which affection, approval, or regard are made conditional on the child's behavior, achievement, or compliance.
Some SDT-based measures examine how emotions are regulated in relation to autonomy, need satisfaction, and internalization.
The Emotion Regulation Inventory (ERI) assesses emotion regulation styles from a self-determination theory perspective, distinguishing autonomous or integrative regulation from more controlled or dysregulated forms of emotional functioning.
SDT conceptualizes well-being in terms of optimal functioning, vitality, need satisfaction, and autonomous engagement with life.
The Subjective Vitality Scale (SVS) assesses the experience of energy and aliveness, representing an important indicator of eudaimonic well-being.
These measures apply SDT concepts to technology adoption, digital environments, and user experience.
The METUX scales assess motivation, need satisfaction, and well-being in technology use across different levels of user experience.
The Player Experience of Need Satisfaction (PENS) assesses autonomy, competence, relatedness, presence, and intuitive control in gaming environments.
⇒ School learning. SDT-based academic measures assess learning motivation, reading motivation, classroom climate, teacher autonomy support, and school need satisfaction.
⇒ Work. SDT-based work measures assess autonomous and controlled work motivation, workplace need satisfaction, autonomy support, work climate, and professional motivation.
⇒ Sport. SDT-based sport and exercise measures assess motivational regulation, psychological need satisfaction, perceived competence, autonomy support, and motives for physical activity.
⇒ Goals and Motivation. SDT overlaps with broader motivation and goal assessment through autonomous motivation, goal contents, values, aspiration patterns, and internalization.
⇒ Self-Efficacy and Agency. SDT overlaps with agency through perceived choice, autonomous functioning, competence, and self-determined action.
⇒ Well-Being. Need satisfaction and vitality connect SDT with broader models of psychological well-being and optimal functioning.