Dr. Edward L. Deci, a University of Rochester psychology professor, challenged traditional motivation theories and co-developed the widely accepted self-determination theory.

Self-determination theory offered a new model of what a human being is. Behaviorists said motivation comes from outside, while SDT argued that the deepest motivation is intrinsic.

Developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s by renowned psychologists Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan, self-determination theory explores the pivotal role of motivation in shaping human behavior, ...