Acting as One : Self-Determination Theory’s Scientific and Existential Import

Research in self-determination theory, amply detailed across the chapters of this Handbook, attests to the universal human propensities toward growth and integration, as well as the social conditions that can either facilitate or hinder their expression. Beyond the influences of social contexts, we as individuals can also actively craft our development, or balk at that existential responsibility. People have inherent capacities to reflect upon, and to accept or reject, values and aims and in so doing they affect their own and others’ well-being and vitality. This human capacity for autonomy develops most robustly within need-supportive social contexts, whereas controlling and need thwarting environments often bring out the more defensive and compensatory “dark sides” of human nature. By creating more autonomy, competence, and relatedness supportive environments in families, schools, organizations, and cultures, the overarching aim of SDT is to help foster a more humane world within which all can flourish.

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