Facilitating Internalization: The Self-Determination Theory Perspective

ABSTRACT Self‐determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985) posits that (a) people are inherently motivated to internalize the regulation of uninteresting though important activities; (b) there are two different processes through which such internalization can occur, resulting in qualitatively differ...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of personality 1994-03, Vol.62 (1), p.119-142
Main Authors: Deci, Edward L., Eghrari, Haleh, Patrick, Brian C., Leone, Dean R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior
Biological and medical sciences
Facilitation
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Identification (Psychology)
Individuals
Internalization
Male
Models, Psychological
Motivation
Personality
Personality Assessment
Personality traits
Personality. Affectivity
Pilot Projects
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Regression Analysis
Self Concept
Selfdetermination theory
Social Adjustment
Social Behavior
Social research
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Summary:ABSTRACT Self‐determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985) posits that (a) people are inherently motivated to internalize the regulation of uninteresting though important activities; (b) there are two different processes through which such internalization can occur, resulting in qualitatively different styles of self‐regulation; and (c) the social context influences which internalization process and regulatory style occur. The two types of internalization are introjection, which entails taking in a value or regulatory process but not accepting it as one's own, and integration, through which the regulation is assimilated with one's core sense of self. Introjection results in internally controlling regulation, whereas integration results in self‐determination. An experiment supported our hypothesis that three facilitating contextual factors—namely, providing a meaningful rationale, acknowledging the behaver's feelings, and conveying choice—promote internalization, as evidenced by the subsequent self‐regulation of behavior. This experiment also supported our expectation that when the social context supports self‐determination, integration tends to occur, whereas when the context does not support self‐determination, introjection tends to occur.
ISSN:0022-3506
1467-6494
DOI:10.1111/j.1467-6494.1994.tb00797.x