ABSTRACT
Self-determination theory is an overarching theory developed by Edward Deci, and later with Richard Ryan, that has been the subject of considerable controversy. It has been around in some form for a number of years (Deci 1975, 1980; Deci and Ryan 1985; Ryan and Deci 2000). Discussions of the theory refer to it frequently as cognitive evaluation theory (see Miner 2005), although strictly speaking this designation is appropriate only for one of the subtheories within the self-determination framework (Ryan and Deci 2000). In Miner (2005) I devote only a few pages to theorizing of this kind, and then only as an addendum to the treatment of expectancy theory; it is not considered there as a major theory.
