Edward L. Deci

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Edward L. Deci (1942–2024) was the Professor of Psychology and Gowen Professor in the Social Sciences at the University of Rochester, and director of its Human Motivation Program. He was well known in psychology for his theories of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and basic psychological needs which he researched for forty years. With Richard Ryan, he co-founded self-determination theory (SDT), an influential contemporary motivational theory. Deci was also director of the Monhegan Museum in Monhegan, Maine.