Edward L. Deci & Richard M. Ryan (2000)
Seminal SDT paper linking goal content (what) and goal motives (why) to autonomy, competence, and relatedness.
Deci and Ryan distinguish between what goals people pursue (goal contents) and why they pursue them (autonomous vs controlled motivation). They argue that behavior is more self-determined and yields better outcomes when goals and motives support the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness. The framework clarifies why the same goal can have different effects depending on its underlying regulation, and why some goals are systematically more need-supportive than others. It provides a unifying lens for research on motivation, well-being, and behavior change in domains like education, work, health, and close relationships.
The paper is a theoretical and integrative review that synthesizes evidence within self-determination theory.
Familiarity with self-determination theory, basic psychological needs, and intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation is helpful.