Abstract
Self-determination theories are housed within theories of human agentic behavior. Human agency refers to the sense of personal empowerment involving both knowing and having what it takes to achieve goals. Human agentic theories share the meta-theoretical view that organismic aspirations drive human behaviors. An organismic perspective of self-determination portrays people as active contributors to, or “authors” of their behavior, where behavior is defined in terms of self-regulated and goal-directed actions. This chapter will review the major theories of human agentic behavior and will examine the role of self-determination in each.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Deci, E. L. (1996). Making room for self-regulation: Some thoughts on the link between emotion and behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 7, 220–223.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum Press.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (Eds.). (2002). Handbook of self-determination research. Rochester: University of Rochester Press.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2012). Motivation, personality, and development within embedded social contexts: An overview of self-determination theory. In R. M. Ryan (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of human motivation (pp. 85–110). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Deci, E. L., Vallerand, R. J., Pelletier, L. G., & Ryan, R. M. (1991). Motivation and education: The self-determination perspective. Educational Psychologist, 26(3–4), 325–346.
Hawley, P. H. (1999). The ontogenesis of social dominance: A strategy-based evolutionary perspective. Developmental Review, 19, 91–132.
Hawley, P. H., & Little, T. D. (2002). Evolutionary and developmental perspectives on the agentic self. In D. Cervone & W. Mishel (Eds.), Advances in personality sciences. New York: Guliford Press.
Little, T. D., Hawley, P. H., Henrich, C. C., & Marsland, K. (2002). Three views of the agentic self: A developmental synthesis. In E. L. Deci & R. M. Ryan (Eds.), Handbook of self-determination research (pp. 389–404). Rochester: University of Rochester Press.
Little, T. D., Snyder, C. R., & Wehmeyer, M. L. (2006). The agentic self: On the nature and origins of personal agency across the lifespan. In D. Mroczek & T. D. Little (Eds.), The handbook of personality development (pp. 61–79). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates.
Shogren, K. A., Wehmeyer, M. L., Palmer, S. B., Forber-Pratt, A., Little, T. J., & Lopez, S. J. (2015). Causal agency theory: Reconceptualizing a functional model of self-determination. Education and Training in Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 50(3), 251–263.
Vansteenkiste, M., & Ryan, R. M. (2013). On psychological growth and vulnerability: Basic psychological need satisfaction and need frustration as a unifying principle. Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, 23(3), 263–280. doi:10.1037/a0032359.
Vansteenkiste, M., Sierens, E., Goossens, L., Soenens, B., Dochy, F., Mouratidis, A., … Beyers, W. (2012). Identifying configurations of perceived teacher autonomy support and structure: Associations with self-regulated learning, motivation and problem behavior. Learning and Instruction, 22, 431–439. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2012.04.002
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Shogren, K.A., Little, T.D., Wehmeyer, M.L. (2017). Human Agentic Theories and the Development of Self-Determination. In: Wehmeyer, M., Shogren, K., Little, T., Lopez, S. (eds) Development of Self-Determination Through the Life-Course. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1042-6_2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1042-6_2
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-024-1040-2
Online ISBN: 978-94-024-1042-6
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)