Motivation theory – Self-Determination Theory

Self-Determination Theory was initially developed by Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan, has been elaborated and refined by scholars from many countries, and is part of the underlying structure of the WeThrive 4C model.

According to Deci and Ryan, the three psychological needs motivate the self to initiate behavior and specify nutriments that are essential for psychological health and well-being of an individual. These needs are said to be universal, innate and psychological and include the need for competence, autonomy, and psychological relatedness.

Read more about SDT here, and if you experiment with applying it in your organisation remember WeThrive would be a core measure of how far the initiative has been helpful.

There is also a great deal of free material, worksheets, questionnaires etc, relating to human needs, motivation and well-being at the SDT site, together with downloadable material on education, healthcare, relationships and more.