ABSTRACT
Self-Determination Theory (SDT) emphasizes the importance of pursuing activities that align with the self as well as the processes by which individuals satisfy their psychological needs for autonomy competence and relatedness. This chapter presents the theoretical underpinnings of SDT with specific regard to the self, review areas of organizational research to which SDT has made significant contributions. It proposes multiple research applications of how SDT can further our understanding of the self at work. In SDT, psychological needs are viewed as innate and universal nutriments that are essential for long-term psychological health, integrity, and growth. Hence, basic psychological needs differ from desires and wishes as need satisfaction contributes to optimal development and well-being, and need thwarting is associated with ill-being. Organismic Integration Theory (OIT) focuses on how extrinsically motivated behaviors can become internalized or “taken in” by the self and experienced as self-authored.
