- Autonomy, competence, and relatedness
- The three basic psychological needs identified by self-determination theory. Autonomy: the need to feel that one's actions are volitional and self-authored. Competence: the need to feel effective and capable in one's environment. Relatedness: the need to feel connected and cared for by others. When all three needs are met, intrinsic motivation and psychological wellbeing flourish; when they are frustrated, motivation declines and wellbeing suffers.
- Overjustification effect
- The paradoxical finding that providing external rewards for activities people intrinsically enjoy can undermine their intrinsic motivation. When a reward is introduced for an enjoyable task, people come to attribute their behaviour to the reward rather than their own interest. When the reward is later withdrawn, interest in the activity drops below its original level. Deci's early studies (1971) showed this with monetary rewards for puzzle-solving.
- Growth mindset
- Carol Dweck's term for the belief that abilities and intelligence are not fixed but can be developed through effort, good strategies, and support from others. People with a growth mindset embrace challenges, persist through difficulty, treat failure as information, and are energised by others' success. Contrasted with a fixed mindset — the belief that abilities are innate and unchangeable.
- Fixed mindset
- The belief that intelligence, talent, and other abilities are fixed traits that cannot be substantially changed through effort. People with a fixed mindset tend to avoid challenges that might reveal their limits, give up quickly in the face of difficulty, and feel threatened by others' success. Fixed mindset beliefs are not binary — the same person can hold a growth mindset in one domain and a fixed mindset in another.
- Flow
- Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's concept describing the state of complete absorption in a challenging but manageable activity. Flow occurs when the difficulty of the task is matched to the skill of the performer — too easy and boredom results; too hard and anxiety results. In flow, self-consciousness recedes, time distorts, and performance tends to be at its best. Flow is a paradigm case of intrinsic motivation.
- Cognitive evaluation theory
- A sub-theory within SDT explaining when external events (rewards, feedback, deadlines) undermine or enhance intrinsic motivation. Events experienced as controlling (determining what you must do) undermine intrinsic motivation; events experienced as informational (providing useful feedback about competence) can support it. The perceived meaning of an external event matters more than the event itself.