Self-determination theory (SDT) is an empirically based theory of motivation and psychological development that is especially focused on the basic psychological needs that promote high quality motivation and wellness, and how they are supported in social contexts. SDT details how the styles and strategies of motivators such as parents, teachers, coaches, managers, and health-care professionals can promote or undermine engagement and the positive consequences that follow from it. In this course, Professor Richard Ryan, co-founder of the theory, will provide an overview of SDT with special emphasis on how autonomy, competence, and relatedness supports and facilitates behavioral persistence, quality of relationships, and healthy developmental processes, among other topics. He will also discuss the convergence of behavioral phenomenological and neuropsychological aspects of autonomy within SDT research. In addition, he will illustrate practical applications of SDT, with emphasis on educational, work, sport, healthcare and psychotherapy settings.
28. Basic Psychological Needs Across Cultures
Reviews
4.8 (342 ratings)
Mar 20, 2019
I thank the mentor wholeheartedly for explaining how motivation affects various facets of life. His style of explanation is engaging and helps in introspecting oneself thoroughly.
Aug 18, 2020
Excellent course. After taking this, you realise that, stoicism and the self-determination form perhaps 95% of the basis of modern psychology, counselling and coaching!
From the lesson
Week 5
Module 5 focuses on the application of SDT in several different domains. The first lecture covers SDT’s application in the healthcare domain, including motivational predictors of weight loss, medication adherence, smoking cessation, and dental hygiene. The next lecture focuses on mental health and the importance of basic need support in psychotherapy, including examples of how therapists can support their clients’ needs. Next, we turn to the application of SDT to sports again including examples of research supporting the importance of autonomy support and how parents and coaches can facilitate athletes’ intrinsic motivation for sport. The next lecture discusses the ways in which culture influences people’s motivation and wellness and how culture acts as a pervasive influence on our need fulfillment. We continue to examine pervasive social influences in the following lecture by looking at the impacts of political and economic structures on motivation and need satisfactions…asking questions like how wealth disparities impact wellness. This will take us to our concluding lecture with final remarks on the importance of basic psychological need support in predicting quality motivation and positive outcomes. Last but not least, the final lecture provides practical takeaways to satisfy your own psychological needs.
Taught By
Richard Ryan
Professor of Psychology, Psychiatry & Education
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