Organismic Integration Theory (OIT)
The second sub-theory is Organismic Integration Theory (OIT) that argues that extrinsic motivation depends on the extent to which autonomy is present.
In other words, extrinsic motivation varies according to the internalization and integration of the value of the activity. Internalization is how well the value of an activity is felt while integration explains the process of individual transformation from external regulation to their own self-regulated version (Ryan & Deci, 2000).
For instance, school assignments are externally regulated activities. Internalization here could be if the child sees the value and importance of the assignment; integration in this situation is the degree to which the child perceives performing the assignment as their own choice.
The OIT thus offers us a greater perspective on the different levels of extrinsic motivation that exist and the processes of internalization and integration, which could eventually result in the autonomous choice of performing the activity for its intrinsic perceived joy and value.
Examples of SDT in Psychology
To understand self-determination theory, it can be useful to see some examples of people who are high in self-determination, or thinking and acting in an autonomous and intrinsically motivated fashion.
The best description of a self-determined individual is someone who:
- Believes she is in control of her own life.
- Takes responsibility for her own behavior (taking credit and blame when either is warranted).
- Is self-motivated instead of driven by others’ standards or external sources.
- Determines her actions based on her own internal values and goals.
For example, imagine a high school student who fails an important test. If she is high in self-determination—feels responsible for her actions, believes she is in control of her behavior, etc.—she might tell her parents that she could have spent more time studying and that she plans to carve out some extra time to study.
Her plan of action would be the same whether her parents were upset or apathetic, because she herself is motivated by an internal desire to be competent and knowledgeable.
If this same student is low in self-determination—feels that she is not in control of her life and that she is a victim of circumstance—she might blame the teacher for giving a tough test that students were not ready for. She may blame her parents for not helping her study or her friends for distracting her.
If she does care about her grade, it is not due to an internal desire to do well, but a desire to win her parents’ approval, or perhaps bolster her self-image by getting the best grade in the class or impressing her teacher with her knowledge.
The man who decides to start a new hobby because he thinks he’ll enjoy it is exhibiting self-determination, while the man who begins a new hobby because it seems prestigious or impressive, is not.
Similarly, the woman who blames all of her ex-lovers for ruining their relationships is not displaying self-determination; the woman who takes responsibility for her part in contributing to unhappy past relationships is showing self-determination.
You may have spotted the theme here: those who take responsibility for their actions and do things because they align with their own personal values and goals are self-determined. Those who blame others, see themselves as constant victims and do things solely for external approval or recognition, are not.
Self-Determination Theory Questionnaires
If you’re interested in using a questionnaire or scale to measure self-determination, this website is an excellent resource.
Feel free to use any of them for academic or research purposes, but please note that to use any of the scales for commercial purposes, you will need to seek permission from Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan.
They list 17 questionnaires that are either directly or indirectly related to self-determination theory. These questionnaires are listed below.
Aspiration Index
This scale measures the extent to which seven broad goal domains motivate the individual, including wealth, fame, image, personal growth, relationships, community contribution, and health. Respondents rate the importance of each aspiration, their beliefs about the likelihood they will attain each, and the degree to which they have already attained each. You can find the complete packet for this scale here.
Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction Scale (BPNSS)
This scale was developed to assess the extent to which the individual feels each of the three basic needs—autonomy, competence, and relatedness—have been satisfied in his or her life. This scale has been developed for several contexts, like work and relationships, but there is a more general form as well. You can learn more about this scale or download a version for your own use here.
Christian Religious Internalization Scale (CRIS)
The CRIS, also known as the Religion Self-Regulation Questionnaire or SRQ-R, can determine the reasons why an individual engages in religious behavior. The scale is divided into two subscales: Introjected Regulation, representing the more externally motivating factors, and Identified Regulation, representing the more internally motivation factors.
There is a long form version with 48 items and a shorter, psychometrically sound 12-item version. Click here to learn more about the CRIS.
General Causality Orientations Scale
The General Causality Orientations Scale, or GCOS, can determine the degree to which the respondent embodies the three orientations: the autonomy orientation, the controlled orientation, and the impersonal orientation. The GCOS presents vignettes, or descriptions of common social or achievement-oriented situations, and asks respondents to indicate how typical each of three responses is for them on a 7-point Likert scale.
It is also available in a long form (17 vignettes and 51 items) and a short form (12 vignettes and 36 items). You can learn more about the GCOS or download it at this link.
Health-Care SDT Packet (HC-SDT)
The HC-SDT is comprised of three scales that measure self-regulation (SRQ), perceived competence (PCS), and perceived autonomy supportiveness of healthcare climate (HCCQ), three self-determination constructs related to health behaviors. The scales target four health behaviors: smoking cessation, diet improvement, exercising regularly and drinking responsibly. Click here to learn more about the HC-SDT.
Index of Autonomous Functioning (IAF)
The IAF measures trait autonomy based on three subscales: authorship/self-congruence, interest-taking, and low susceptibility to control. The first subscale assesses the degree to which the individual views his behavior as under his control and the consistency among his behaviors, attitudes, and traits.
The second assesses his ongoing insight into himself and his experiences in an open-minded manner, and the third assesses the absence of internal and external pressures as motivators for his behavior. You can download the scale at this link.
Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI)
This scale was developed for use in experiments, and measures the extent to which respondents found an activity interesting or enjoyable, their perceived competence at the task, the effort they put into the task, how valuable or useful they found it, how much tension or pressure they felt, and how much choice they felt they had while completing it.
The interest/enjoyment subscale is considered the individual’s self-reported level of intrinsic motivation in the experiment. Click here to download the scale and learn more.
Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS)
The MAAS may be familiar to you if you’ve read any of our pieces on mindfulness. It provides a measure of “receptive awareness and attention to present-moment events and experience.” It consists of 15 items, all of which comprise a single factor. SDT co-developer Richard M. Ryan developed this scale with another colleague in 2003. Click here to learn more about the MAAS scale and see suggested reading on mindfulness.
Motivators’ Orientation
The Motivators’ Orientation set of questionnaires measures the extent to which an individual in a supervisory capacity tends to be autonomy-supportive versus controlling. There are two questionnaires designed for specific contexts: the Problems in Schools Questionnaire (PIS) is designed for teachers, while the Problems at Work Questionnaire (PAW) is designed for managers in a work environment.
Each questionnaire requires respondents to read eight vignettes and rate four behavioral options on appropriateness for the situation. The four options represent four tendencies: Highly Autonomy Supportive (HA), Moderately Autonomy Supportive (MA), Moderately Controlling (MC), and Highly Controlling, (HC). You can learn more about these scales here.
Motives for Physical Activity Measure (MPAM-R)
The MPAM-R assesses the strength of five different motivations for participating in a physical activity like team sports, aerobics, or weight lifting: (1) fitness, (2) appearance, (3) competence/challenge, (4) social, and (5) enjoyment. The results of this scale can reliably predict behavioral outcomes like attendance, persistence, and maintained participation, as well as constructs like mental health and wellbeing. You can find more information on this scale at this link.
Perceived Autonomy Support
This is a set of scales that measures the individual’s perceptions of the extent to which a particular social context is autonomy-supportive or controlling. It includes the aforementioned health care climate questionnaire (HCCQ) as well as scales on the learning climate (LCQ), the work climate (WCQ), the sports climate (SCQ), and the parental autonomy support climate (P-PASS).
Respondents rate the autonomy supportiveness of the context on a 7-point scale, with higher scores indicating greater autonomy support. There are two versions for each scale: a long, 15-item version and a short, 5-item version. Click here to learn more about these scales.
Perceived Choice and Awareness of Self Scale (formerly the Self-Determination Scale [SDS])
This scale, which was previously known as simply the Self-Determination Scale (SDS), measures individual differences in perceived choice, or the feeling that one has choices in how to behave, and awareness of self, or the awareness of one’s own feelings and sense of self. The PCASS is only 10 items long and is composed of two 5-item scales (one for each construct). Follow this link to learn more about the PCASS.
Perceived Competence Scale (PCS)
The PCS is a short questionnaire that measures perceived competence in a specific behavior or area. It is only 4 items long, and it is intended to be adapted for the specific behavior or area being studied. Click here to learn more about the PCS.
Perceptions of Parents
This scale for children was designed to measure how autonomy-supportive or controlling they perceive their parents to be. There are two versions of this scale: a 22-item version for children 8 years or older, and a 42-item version for college students. You can learn more about this scale and the two versions here.
Self-Regulation Questionnaires (SRQ)
The SRQ scales measure individual differences in regulation or motivation of behavior. There are seven self-regulation questionnaires listed on the website: the Academic Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ-A) and the Prosocial Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ-P), both of which are intended for children, and the Treatment Self-Regulation Questionnaire (TSRQ), the Learning Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ-L), the Exercise Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ-E), the Religion Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ-R), and the Friendship Self-Regulation Questionnaire (SRQ-F), which are all intended for adults.
You can find these questionnaires at this link.
Subjective Vitality Scale (VS)
The Subjective Vitality Scale, or VS, assesses the extent to which an individual feels alive, alert, and energetic—a vital aspect of wellbeing. There are two versions, one of which considers individual differences (vitality as a trait or characteristic), while the other measures vitality as a more transitory experience (vitality as a state).
The items are generally the same, only the timeframe differs (long-term and stable for the trait version vs. short-term and fluctuating for the state version). The original scale consisted of 7 items, but a shorter, 6-item version has proven to be even more sound than the original. You can learn more about the scale here.
Treatment Motivation Questionnaire (TMQ)
Finally, the TMQ is used to assess motivation for receiving treatment. It measures the strength of four types of motivation on treatment attendance and compliance behaviors: intrinsic motivation, identified regulation, introjected regulation, and external regulation. You can download the scale or learn more about it here.
If you’re interested in assessing more traits and behaviors, please see our piece on mindfulness scales and questionnaires.
Self-Determination Theory and Goals
SDT has a lot to say about goals and goal striving.
The theory proposes that not only is the content of our goals (i.e., what we strive for) important for our need satisfaction and wellbeing, the process of our goals (i.e., why we strive for them) is just as influential on our wellbeing.
The degree to which behavioral regulation of goal striving is autonomous (or self-directed) versus controlled is a significant predictor of wellbeing outcomes.
In other words, we are more satisfied and successful when we can pursue goals in “our own way” rather than according to a strict, external system of regulation. Even when pursuing extrinsic rewards like wealth or fame, we are more satisfied and self-actualized when we pursue them autonomously, for our own reasons and with our own methods (Deci & Ryan, 2000).
Further research on SDT and goals has confirmed the connection between success and autonomy and supported the idea that success is also more likely when our goals are intrinsic and intended to satisfy our basic needs. Success in goal-striving is more likely when we are supported by empathetic and supportive people, rather than controlling or directive people (Koestner & Hope, 2014).
What our readers think
I’m delighted to read your article which seems to very helpful. Appreciate your hard work and clear way of defining the points.
Thank you for this article on SDT. Reading how this is viewed differently according to situations, people, and careers has been very much enlightening to me and I found myself looking forward to reading more on this theory. Again, thank you.
Very much appreciated. Thank you for this excellent article.
Hi, I enjoyed reading this article. how to cite this article?
Hi Tobeka,
Glad you enjoyed it! Here’s how you’d cite it in APA 7th:
Ackerman, C. E. (2018, June 21). Self-determination theory of motivation: Why intrinsic motivation matters. PositivePsychology.com. https://positivepsychology.com/self-determination-theory/
Hope this helps!
– Nicole | Community Manager
Very Interesting! When was the article published? I would like to reference some information from this article and it’s necessary to put the year!
Hi Bintou,
Glad you liked the article. It was published the 21st of June, 2018.
Hope this helps!
– Nicole | Community Manager
Can SDT be applied into fields such as shopping and consumer decision making? If so is there any existing research within these fields you could suggest? Many thanks
Hi Jonah,
Yes, there is a wealth of research looking at SDT in the domains of marketing and consumer behavior. It’s therefore hard to recommend a starting point, but perhaps this review by Gilal et al., (2019) would be one.
Hope this helps!
– Nicole | Community Manager
Do you have an survey instrument to evaluate mission motivation of seminary students? or to evaluate the work motivation of an organization? Could you please guide me to that.
Hi Joseph,
I’m afraid I’m not aware of any scales for measuring mission motivation of the type I assume you’re interested in. You might need to custom-develop something for this purpose. As for work motivation, are you interested in organization-level motivation? Or like the motivation of a team or workgroup or department (as opposed to the individual)? Let me know and I should be able to point you in the right direction 🙂
– Nicole | Community Manager