- Oxford Library of Psychology
- [UNTITLED]
- Oxford Library of Psychology
- About the Editor
- Contributors
- Beyond Pathology Positive Psychology and Disability
- Understanding Disability A Strengths-Based Approach
- Positive Psychology and Disability A Historical Analysis
- The Impact of the Quality of Life Concept on the Field of Intellectual Disability
- Optimism Within the Context of Disability
- Social Well-Being and Friendship of People with Intellectual Disability
- Exercise, Leisure, and Well-Being for People with Disabilities
- Coping and Disability
- Adaptive Behavior
- Self-Determination
- Self-Determined Learning
- Understanding Hope in Individuals with Disabilities
- Family Perspectives on Child Intellectual Disability Views from the Sunny Side of the Street
- Resilience and Disability Concepts, Examples, Cautions, and Prospects
- Problem Solving and Decision Making
- Forgiveness, Gratitude, and Spirituality
- Career Development and Career Thoughts
- Self-Regulation and Disability
- Disability Studies/Disability Culture
- Positive Behavior Support Foundations, Systems, and Quality of Life
- Supports and Support Needs
- Supported Employment
- Family Quality of Life
- Education
- Aging with Disability
- A Positive Psychology of Physical Disability Principles and Progress
- Cognitive and Developmental Disabilities
- Severe Multiple Disabilities
- Positive Psychology and Children with Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties
- Positive Psychology and Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Limitations to Positive Psychology Predicted by Subjective Well-Being Homeostasis
- Index
Abstract and Keywords
Self-determination is a general psychological construct within the organizing structure of theories of human agency that refers to self- (vs. other-) caused action—to people acting volitionally, based on their own will. Human agency refers to the sense of personal empowerment involving both knowing and having what it takes to achieve goals. Human agentic theories share the meta-theoretical view that organismic aspirations drive human behaviors. An organismic perspective of self-determination that views people as active contributors to, or “authors” of, their behavior, where behavior is self-regulated and goal-directed, provides a compelling foundation for examining and facilitating the degree to which people become self-determined and the impact of that on the pursuit of optimal human functioning and well-being. Further, an organismic approach to self-determination requires an explicit focus on the interface between the self and context. This chapter provides an overview of theoretical frameworks driving efforts to promote self-determination for people with disabilities, examines findings from research pertaining to self-determination and youth and adults with disabilities, and discusses intervention research in the field.
Keywords: self-determination, human agency, causal agency, self-determination theory, volitional action
Michael L. Wehmeyer, Ph.D. is Professor of Special Education; Director, Kansas University Center on Developmental Disabilities; and Associate Director, Beach Center on Disability, all at the University of Kansas.
Todd D. Little, Ph.D., is a Professor of Psychology, Director of the Quantitative training program, Director of the undergraduate Social and Behavioral Sciences Methodology minor, and a member of the Developmental training program. Since 2010, Todd has been Director of the Center for Research Methods and Data Analysis (CRMDA) at Kansas University. Little is internationally recognized for his quantitative work on various aspects of applied SEM (e.g., indicator selection, parceling, modeling developmental processes) as well as his substantive developmental research (e.g., action-control processes and motivation, coping, and self-regulation). In 2001, Little was elected to membership in the Society for Multivariate Experimental Psychology. In 2009, he was elected President of APA’s Division 5 (Evaluation, Measurement, and Statistics) and in 2010 was elected Fellow of the division. In 2012, he was elected Fellow in the Association for Psychological Science. He founded, organizes, and teaches in the internationally renowned KU “Stats Camps” each June (see crmda.KU.edu for details of the summer training programs). Little has edited five books related to methodology including The Oxford Handbook of Quantitative Methods and the Guilford Handbook of Developmental Research Methods (with Brett Laursen and Noel Card). Little has been principal investigator or co-principal investigator on more than 15 grants and contracts, statistical consultant on more than 60 grants and he has guided the development of more than 10 different measurement tools.
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- Oxford Library of Psychology
- [UNTITLED]
- Oxford Library of Psychology
- About the Editor
- Contributors
- Beyond Pathology Positive Psychology and Disability
- Understanding Disability A Strengths-Based Approach
- Positive Psychology and Disability A Historical Analysis
- The Impact of the Quality of Life Concept on the Field of Intellectual Disability
- Optimism Within the Context of Disability
- Social Well-Being and Friendship of People with Intellectual Disability
- Exercise, Leisure, and Well-Being for People with Disabilities
- Coping and Disability
- Adaptive Behavior
- Self-Determination
- Self-Determined Learning
- Understanding Hope in Individuals with Disabilities
- Family Perspectives on Child Intellectual Disability Views from the Sunny Side of the Street
- Resilience and Disability Concepts, Examples, Cautions, and Prospects
- Problem Solving and Decision Making
- Forgiveness, Gratitude, and Spirituality
- Career Development and Career Thoughts
- Self-Regulation and Disability
- Disability Studies/Disability Culture
- Positive Behavior Support Foundations, Systems, and Quality of Life
- Supports and Support Needs
- Supported Employment
- Family Quality of Life
- Education
- Aging with Disability
- A Positive Psychology of Physical Disability Principles and Progress
- Cognitive and Developmental Disabilities
- Severe Multiple Disabilities
- Positive Psychology and Children with Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties
- Positive Psychology and Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Limitations to Positive Psychology Predicted by Subjective Well-Being Homeostasis
- Index
