Abstract
Causal Agency Theory defines self-determination as a dispositional characteristic manifested as acting as the causal agent in one’s life. There are three essential characteristics associated with causal agency that develop over the life course: volitional action, agentic action, and action-control beliefs. In practice, we describe these essential characteristics as: decide, act, and believe. Volitional actions involve acting with autonomy, self-initiation, and inhibitory control; when a person engages in volitional action (decide), they initiate and activate key abilities that enable them to cause something to happen in their life, which includes identifying and setting goals. Agentic actions are self-directed steps a person takes in service of a goal; critical to agentic action (Act) is self-regulation, self-direction, pathways thinking, and cognitive flexibility. Action-control beliefs involved the affective dimension of recognizing that one’s own abilities support goal achievement and feeling empowered to act based on the beliefs that one’s volition and agentic actions will lead to or cause desired outcomes. Self-determined actions defined by Causal Agency Theory develop over the life course and provide a framework for assessment and intervention in self-determination to promote equitable outcomes for all people, including people with disabilities.
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Shogren, K.A., Raley, S.K. (2022). Causal Agency Theory: Defining Self-Determined Actions. In: Self-Determination and Causal Agency Theory. Positive Psychology and Disability Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-04260-7_4
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