Self-Determination Theory: The Importance of Autonomy to Well-Being across Cultures.

According to proponents of self-determination theory, autonomous regulation is a universal psychological human need. Researchers have found autonomy (defined as acting in accordance with one's values) related to well-being across cultures. Encouraging client autonomy is therefore fundamental to the practice of humanistic counseling. ********** With the growth of the multicultural movement, counselors have increasingly focused their attention on ethnic, racial, and cultural differences, tailoring their interventions to meet the unique needs of diverse groups (Thomas & Weinrach, 1999). Although counselors are ethically obligated to provide services that help clients make culturally appropriate decisions (Burn, 1992), this in no way diminishes the importance of individual differences or of universal psychological needs (Speight, Myers, Cox, & Highlen, 1991). Universal needs such as the need for safety or, as postulated by self-determination theory (SDT; Chirkov, Ryan, & Wiliness, 2005), the need for autonomy, are important across cultures. Researchers have found a relationship between autonomy and well-being in both Western and non-Western societies. Encouraging client autonomy is therefore fundamental to the practice of humanistic counseling, a practice which acknowledges "the responsibility of human beings for their own destiny, having within themselves the answers to improving their own lives" (Counseling Association for Humanistic Education and Development, n.d.). This article explores the current literature regarding the relationship between autonomy and well-being across diverse cultures. AUTONOMY According to the proponents of SDT, autonomy (along with relatedness and competence) is a basic human need that must be fulfilled for optimal functioning and subjective well-being (Chirkov et al., 2005). Ryan and Deci (2000), two leading proponents of SDT, have suggested that satisfying one's psychological needs, such as one's need for autonomy, is as essential to one's sense of well-being as satisfying one's need for nutrients. SDT researchers differentiate autonomous behaviors, which are internally motivated by a sense of volition, from controlled behaviors, which are externally motivated often through a sense of obligation, pressure, or anticipated rewards (Vansteenkiste, Zhou, Lens, & Soenens, 2005). Autonomy, defined by SDT researchers, literally means regulation by the self, or self-regulation (Ryan & Deci, 2006). By this definition, an individual who authentically endorses his or her actions and makes choices that reflect his or her true interests and values, whatever those interests and values are, is acting autonomously. Terms closely related to the construct of autonomy, or autonomous regulation, include self-determination, authenticity, and self-concordance. Like autonomy, self-determined acts are acts that are in line with one's values and interests, independent of external pressure. "A person can be self-determined even when acting in accord with an external demand, provided the person fully concurs with or endorses doing so" (Ryan & Deci, 2006, p. 1560). Similarly, authentic acts, according to Ekstrom (2005), come from one's core self and represent wholeheartedly endorsed preferences and values. In the same vein, self-concordant people pursue goals "because the goals fit with their underlying interests and values rather than because others say they should pursue them" (Sheldon et al., 2004, p. 209). To be autonomous, self-determined, authentic, or self-concordant implies at least the perception of freedom to act in accordance with one's internal values, independent of external controls. WHAT AUTONOMY IS NOT Autonomy, as defined by SDT researchers, is related to, but not the same as, independence, indeterminacy, or alternative choice. Acting autonomously does not require acting independent of external input but rather wholeheartedly endorsing one's actions (Chirkov, Ryan, Kim, & Kaplan, 2003). …