We start with the specification by Van Lissa and colleagues, conducted as part of Fiedler & Glöckner’s many-theorists project. The definition of SDT is taken from this book chapter, but it seems to be consistent with the description on https://selfdeterminationtheory.org/the-theory/:
Lange, P. A. M. V., W.Kruglanski, A., ToryHiggins, E., Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2012). Self-Determination Theory. In Handbook of Theories of Social Psychology: Volume 1 (pp. 416–437). SAGE Publications Ltd. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446249215
SDT1 <- read.csv(system.file("sdt1.txt",package="theorytools"))
names(SDT1) <- c("N", "IF", "THEN", "Original")
knitr::kable(SDT1[, 1:4], caption = "SDT translated into IF/THEN statements")| N | IF | THEN | Original |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | nutriments are absent | intrinsic motivation and integration are impaired | “For these natural, active processes of intrinsic motivation and integration to operate effectively toward healthy development and psychological well-being, human beings need particular nutriments – both biological and psychological (Ryan, 1995). In the relative absence of such nutriments, these natural processes will be impaired, resulting in experiences, development, and behaviors that are less than optimal. (Lange et al., 2012, p. 417) |
| 2 | intrinsic motivation is present | healthy development and psychological well-being take place | “For these natural, active processes of intrinsic motivation and integration to operate effectively toward healthy development and psychological well-being, human beings need particular nutriments – both biological and psychological (Ryan, 1995). In the relative absence of such nutriments, these natural processes will be impaired, resulting in experiences, development, and behaviors that are less than optimal. (Lange et al., 2012, p. 417) |
| 3 | integration is present | healthy development and psychological well-being take place | “For these natural, active processes of intrinsic motivation and integration to operate effectively toward healthy development and psychological well-being, human beings need particular nutriments – both biological and psychological (Ryan, 1995). In the relative absence of such nutriments, these natural processes will be impaired, resulting in experiences, development, and behaviors that are less than optimal. (Lange et al., 2012, p. 417) |
| 4 | needs are satisfied or thwarted | psychological well-being of all people is affected | “The three basic psychological needs are universal such that their satisfaction versus thwarting affects the psychological well-being of all people.” (Lange et al., 2012, p. 425) |
| 5 | rewards given | intrinsic motivation can decrease | “rewards do not always motivate subsequent persistence; indeed they can undermine intrinsic motivation” (Lange et al., 2012, p. 417) |
| 6 | external event is expected to thwart the basic needs (reward, threat of punishment, positive feedback, competition, choice) | external perceived locus of causality | “Intrinsic motivation was considered an inherent characteristic of human beings and was viewed as the prototype of psychological freedom or self-determination. It could be either undermined or enhanced depending on whether the social environment supported or thwarted the needs for competence and self-determination. If a reward or other external event such as threat of punishment (Deci and Cascio, 1972), positive feedback (Deci, 1971), competition (Deci and Betley et al., 1981), or choice (Zuckerman et al., 1978) were expected to thwart these basic needs, it was predicted to prompt an external perceived locus of causality and undermine intrinsic motivation; but if the event were expected to support these basic needs, it was predicted to prompt an internal perceived locus of causality and enhance intrinsic motivation.” (Lange et al., 2012, p. 418) |
| 7 | external perceived locus of causality | undermined intrinsic motivation | “Intrinsic motivation was considered an inherent characteristic of human beings and was viewed as the prototype of psychological freedom or self-determination. It could be either undermined or enhanced depending on whether the social environment supported or thwarted the needs for competence and self-determination. If a reward or other external event such as threat of punishment (Deci and Cascio, 1972), positive feedback (Deci, 1971), competition (Deci and Betley et al., 1981), or choice (Zuckerman et al., 1978) were expected to thwart these basic needs, it was predicted to prompt an external perceived locus of causality and undermine intrinsic motivation; but if the event were expected to support these basic needs, it was predicted to prompt an internal perceived locus of causality and enhance intrinsic motivation.” (Lange et al., 2012, p. 418) |
| 8 | external event is expected to support the basic needs (reward, threat of punishment, positive feedback, competition, choice) | internal perceived locus of causality | “Intrinsic motivation was considered an inherent characteristic of human beings and was viewed as the prototype of psychological freedom or self-determination. It could be either undermined or enhanced depending on whether the social environment supported or thwarted the needs for competence and self-determination. If a reward or other external event such as threat of punishment (Deci and Cascio, 1972), positive feedback (Deci, 1971), competition (Deci and Betley et al., 1981), or choice (Zuckerman et al., 1978) were expected to thwart these basic needs, it was predicted to prompt an external perceived locus of causality and undermine intrinsic motivation; but if the event were expected to support these basic needs, it was predicted to prompt an internal perceived locus of causality and enhance intrinsic motivation.” (Lange et al., 2012, p. 418) |
| 9 | internal perceived locus of causality | enhanced intrinsic motivation | “Intrinsic motivation was considered an inherent characteristic of human beings and was viewed as the prototype of psychological freedom or self-determination. It could be either undermined or enhanced depending on whether the social environment supported or thwarted the needs for competence and self-determination. If a reward or other external event such as threat of punishment (Deci and Cascio, 1972), positive feedback (Deci, 1971), competition (Deci and Betley et al., 1981), or choice (Zuckerman et al., 1978) were expected to thwart these basic needs, it was predicted to prompt an external perceived locus of causality and undermine intrinsic motivation; but if the event were expected to support these basic needs, it was predicted to prompt an internal perceived locus of causality and enhance intrinsic motivation.” (Lange et al., 2012, p. 418) |
Next, we specify these verbal IF/THEN statements into causal links between specific constructs. Note that the numbers associated with the statements are retained, so that it is clear which causal links are derived from which IF/THEN statements:
SDT2 <- read.csv(system.file("sdt2.txt",package="theorytools"))
names(SDT2) <- c("N", "from", "to", "form")
knitr::kable(SDT2[, 1:3], caption = "IF/THEN statements translated into causal connections")| N | from | to |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | needs | intrinsic_motivation |
| 1 | needs | integration |
| 2 | intrinsic_motivation | healthy_development |
| 2 | intrinsic_motivation | wellbeing |
| 3 | integration | healthy_development |
| 3 | integration | wellbeing |
| 4 | needs | wellbeing |
| 5 | external_event | intrinsic_motivation |
| 6 | external_event | needs |
| 6 | needs | locus_of_causality |
| 7 | locus_of_causality | intrinsic_motivation |
| 8 | external_event | needs |
| 8 | needs | locus_of_causality |
| 9 | locus_of_causality | intrinsic_motivation |
This specification reveals redundancies in the original theory. Certain points were repeated, once phrased in a positive way, and once phrased in a negative way. When the statements are reduced to their implied causal connections, the redundancies become apparent. Now, we can simply remove the redundancies as follows:
# Drop statement numbers
SDT2 <- SDT2[, 2:3]
# Remove redundant statements
SDT2 <- SDT2[!duplicated(SDT2), ]
knitr::kable(SDT2, caption = "Unique causal connections")| from | to |
|---|---|
| needs | intrinsic_motivation |
| needs | integration |
| intrinsic_motivation | healthy_development |
| intrinsic_motivation | wellbeing |
| integration | healthy_development |
| integration | wellbeing |
| needs | wellbeing |
| external_event | intrinsic_motivation |
| external_event | needs |
| needs | locus_of_causality |
| locus_of_causality | intrinsic_motivation |
We can translate this table to a DAG:
We can plot the DAG as follows:
Causal diagram implied by SDT
Now, let’s look at the operationalizations of the constructs in the DAG.
SDT_operationalizations <- read.csv("../dev/sdt_op.txt", sep = "\t")
SDT_operationalizations$Operationalization <- gsub("MIS", "Missing:", SDT_operationalizations$Operationalization, fixed = TRUE)
SDT_operationalizations$Operationalization <- gsub("DER", "Derived from other source:", SDT_operationalizations$Operationalization, fixed = TRUE)
knitr::kable(SDT_operationalizations, caption = "Operationalizations of constructs in SDT")| Nr. | concept | Definition | Operationalization | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Needs, nutriments | Needs for competence, autonomy, and relatedness. Nutriments appears to be a synonym for needs. | Missing: Not given in chapter, could not find | |
| 2 | Intrinsic motivation | Intrinsic motivation | Derived from other source: Not given in chapter, but chapter references paper with definition: Mean number of seconds spent working on puzzle during eight-minute free choice period | https://doi.org/10.1037/h0030644 |
| 3 | integration | integration | Derived from other source: Not given in chapter, But chapter references paper with definition: “ongoing reciprocal assimilation between schemas, such that there tends to be an internal consistency and equilibration among varied functions and structures” | https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1995.tb00501.x |
| 4 | Healthy development | Healthy development | Missing: Not given in chapter, could not find | |
| 5 | Psychological wellbeing | Psychological wellbeing | Derived from other source: Not given in chapter, chapter cites paper with definition: “positive affect, vitality, and physical symptoms” | https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672962212007 |
| 6 | external event | reward, threat of punishment, positive feedback, competition, choice | Various external events, for example: positive feedback (Ryan, 1982) performance-contingent monetary rewards (Ryan et al., 1983) limits set on children (Koestner et al., 1984) | Ryan, 1982 https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.43.3.450 Ryan et al., 1983 https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.45.4.736 Koestner et al., 1984 https://selfdeterminationtheory.org/SDT/documents/1984_KoestnerRyanBernHolt.pdf |
| 7 | external perceived locus of causality | external perceived locus of causality | Derived from other source: Not given in chapter. Most useful resource is Ryan & Connell, 1989 https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.57.5.749 They use structured interviews, and the Multidimensional Measure of Children’s Perceptions of Control (Connell, 1985) | Ryan & Connell, 1989 https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.57.5.749 |
| 8 | internal perceived locus of causality | internal perceived locus of causality | Derived from other source: Not given in chapter. Most useful resource is Ryan & Connell, 1989 https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.57.5.749 They use structured interviews, and the Multidimensional Measure of Children’s Perceptions of Control (Connell, 1985) | Ryan & Connell, 1989 https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.57.5.749 |