Edward L. Deci

• Professor Emeritus of Psychology
• Helen F. and Fred H. Gowen Professor in the Social Sciences

PhD, Carnegie-Mellon University, 1970

deci@psych.rochester.edu

Office Hours: By appointment

Website

Research Overview

I am interested in human motivation, particularly the nature and development of self-determination.

I examine a variety of issues in human motivation, isolating basic processes and testing their application to education, health care, parenting, mental health, and work organizations in the US and across cultures. Using both laboratory and field methods, my work focuses primarily on the nature and development of self-determination. For more detail, please see the Self-Determination Theory website.

Selected Publications

Books

• Deci, E. L. (1975). Intrinsic motivation. New York: Plenum Publishing Co. Japanese Edition, Tokyo: Seishin Shobo, 1980.
• Deci, E. L. (1980). The psychology of self-determination. Lexington, MA: D. C. Heath (Lexington Books). Japanese Edition, Tokyo: Seishin Shobo, 1985.
• Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum Publishing Co.
• Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2017). Self-Determination Theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. New York: Guilford Press.
• Deci, E. L., with Flaste, R. (1995). Why we do what we do. New York: Grosset/Putnam. Paperback (1996) New York: Penguin USA.

Articles

• Deci, E. L. (1971). Effects of externally mediated rewards on intrinsic motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 18, 105-115.
• Deci, E. L., Koestner, R., & Ryan, R. M. (1999). A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 125, 627-668.
• Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The "what" and "why" of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 227-268.
• Weinstein, N., Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2011). Motivational determinants of integrating positive and negative past identities. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100, 527-544.
• Deci, E. L., Olafsen, A. H., & Ryan, R. M. (2017). Self-Determination Theory in work organizations: The state of a science. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 4, 19-43.
• Nguyen, T. T., Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2018). Solitude as an approach to affective sef-regulation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 44(1), 92-106.