Edward L. Deci (;
born in 1942
) is a Professor of Psychology and Gowen Professor in the Social Sciences at the
University of Rochester
The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees.
The University of Roc ...
, and director of its human motivation program. He is well known in psychology for his theories of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and basic psychological needs. With
Richard Ryan, he is the co-founder of
self-determination theory
Self-determination theory (SDT) is a macro theory of human motivation and personality that concerns people's innate growth tendencies and innate psychological needs. It pertains to the motivation behind people's choices in the absence of extern ...
(SDT), an influential contemporary motivational theory. Self-determination theory is a macro theory of human motivation that differentiates between autonomous and controlled forms of motivation; the theory has been applied to predict behavior and inform behavior change in many contexts including: education, health care, work organizations, parenting, and sport (as well as many others).
Deci is also Director of the Monhegan Museum in
Monhegan, Maine.
Selected works
* Deci, E.L. (1975). ''Intrinsic motivation''. New York: Plenum Publishing Co. Japanese Edition, Tokyo: Seishin Shobo, 1980.
* Deci, E.L. (1980). ''The psychology of self-determination''. Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath (Lexington Books). Japanese Edition, Tokyo: Seishin Shobo, 1985.
*
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). "The 'what' and 'why' of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior." ''Psychological Inquiry'', 11, 227-268.Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). "Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being." ''American Psychologist'', 55, 68-78.*
*
* Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017).
Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness'. New York: Guilford Publishing. .
See also
*
Self-determination theory
Self-determination theory (SDT) is a macro theory of human motivation and personality that concerns people's innate growth tendencies and innate psychological needs. It pertains to the motivation behind people's choices in the absence of extern ...
*
Organismic theory
Organismic theories in psychology are a family of holistic psychological theories which tend to stress the organization, unity, and integration of human beings expressed through each individual's inherent growth or developmental tendency. The i ...
*
Overjustification effect The overjustification effect occurs when an expected external incentive such as money or prizes decreases a person's intrinsic motivation to perform a task. Overjustification is an explanation for the phenomenon known as motivational "crowding out" ...
*
Motivation
Motivation is the reason for which humans and other animals initiate, continue, or terminate a behavior at a given time. Motivational states are commonly understood as forces acting within the agent that create a disposition to engage in goal-dire ...
References
External links
University of Rochester faculty pageSelf-determination theory website
Living people
University of Rochester faculty
1942 births
American psychologists
Motivation theorists
{{US-psychologist-stub