View source for Self-Determination Theory

'''Self-determination theory''' (SDT) is a macro-theory of human motivation developed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan. It posits three basic psychological needs that must be satisfied for intrinsic motivation and psychological well-being: '''autonomy''' (self-regulation), '''competence''' (effectiveness), and '''relatedness''' (social connection).

SDT distinguishes between intrinsic motivation (doing something because it is inherently interesting) and extrinsic motivation (doing something for separable outcomes). It further categorizes extrinsic motivation by degree of internalization, from external regulation (pure compliance) to integrated regulation (fully internalized values).

In the [[Active Inference|active inference]] framework, SDT's three needs map onto properties of the generative model: autonomy corresponds to self-model precision, competence to world-model accuracy, and relatedness to mutual information between social models.

== See Also ==
* [[Intrinsic Motivation]]
* [[Active Inference]]
* [[Free Energy Principle]]
* [[Curiosity]]

[[Category:Psychology]]
[[Category:Systems]]