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Self-Determination Theory (SDT) · asgard-ai-platform | DecimalAI

productivityby asgard-ai-platform

Self-Determination Theory (SDT)

asgard-ai-platform/grad-sdt

Source asgard-ai-platform/skills ↗License MIT

Apply Self-Determination Theory to analyze motivation quality along the autonomy continuum and design interventions that satisfy basic psychological needs.

SkillScore95Maintained

Automatic

HR & People Ops pack

Last verified 8/28/2026

What it changes

Passed 21 of 22 test cases with the skill, and 17 of 22 without it.

Without skill77%

With skill95%

Checks it passed that the model alone missed

The assessment classifies the primary need deficit as thwarted relatedness.
The analysis identifies Option B as informational feedback that supports competence.
The report recommends replacing monitoring software with outcome-based autonomy support.

and 1 more in the full report

4 fixed17 passed either way1 still failing0 broke

Pass-rate lift: +18 pp
Tokens: +13%
Agent turns: 0%
Response time: -26%

Model gemini-3.6-flashMeasured 8/28/2026v121 of 22 cases passed with skill

Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.

Use this skill

Save it into your project's skills folder. Claude Code picks it up in its next session.

curl -fsSL --create-dirs -o .claude/skills/asgard-ai-platform-grad-sdt/SKILL.md https://app.decimal.ai/s/asgard-ai-platform-grad-sdt/SKILL.md

Want it pinned and updatable? pip install "decimalai>=0.15", then decimalai skills add asgard-ai-platform-grad-sdt, and start Claude Code with claude --plugin-dir "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)/.agents"

1 · One-time — install the CLI (docs ↗)

pip install "decimalai>=0.15"

2 · Get the skill — writes .agents/skills/asgard-ai-platform-grad-sdt/ and pins it in .decimal/skills.lock

decimalai skills add asgard-ai-platform-grad-sdt

No CLI? Get the same file — curl · raw file

curl -fsSL --create-dirs -o .claude/skills/asgard-ai-platform-grad-sdt/SKILL.md https://app.decimal.ai/s/asgard-ai-platform-grad-sdt/SKILL.md

Raw file: /s/asgard-ai-platform-grad-sdt/SKILL.md ↗ · machine-readable summary at /s/asgard-ai-platform-grad-sdt.json ↗

Safety checks: 3 of 3 passed

Code scan CleanIntent PassedContent Clean

See it in action

One of 4 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.

1 of 4

Prompt

A disaster relief team is observing refugees struggling to obtain clean water and basic food rations in an emergency zone. The program coordinator wants to know how to motivate these individuals to queue peacefully by framing food distribution as a self-actualization opportunity. Provide a motivational diagnostic.

What was checked, without and with the skill
Checked	Without skill	With skill
The evaluation explains that physiological survival needs supersede volitional motivational frameworks in emergency situations.	Passed	Passed
The report declines to apply Self-Determination Theory to basic physiological survival needs.	Missed	Passed

case-04 · gemini-3.6-flash · 8/28/2026 · answers are capped and redacted

What's inside

The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.

SKILL.md104 linessingle file

Self-Determination Theory (SDT)

Overview

Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000) posits that human motivation varies in quality along a continuum of autonomy, from amotivation through external regulation to fully intrinsic motivation. Optimal functioning and well-being depend on satisfying three basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

When to Use

Diagnosing why engagement or performance has declined after introducing incentives
Designing reward systems that avoid undermining intrinsic motivation
Evaluating organizational or educational environments for need satisfaction
Understanding motivation quality beyond simple "motivated vs. unmotivated" framing

When NOT to Use

When behavior is driven purely by survival needs or physiological deprivation
As a substitute for structural analysis (e.g., resource constraints mistaken for motivation issues)
When the context requires a trait-based personality model rather than a motivational framework

Assumptions

IRON LAW: External rewards can UNDERMINE intrinsic motivation
(overjustification effect) — incentive design must consider
motivational crowding. Tangible, expected, contingent rewards
are the most damaging to autonomous motivation.

Key assumptions:

Three basic needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness) are universal across cultures
Motivation quality matters more than motivation quantity for sustained outcomes
Social contexts that support need satisfaction promote internalization of extrinsic motivation

Methodology

Step 1 — Assess Current Motivation Quality

Classify target behavior on the motivation continuum:

| Regulation Type | Locus | Description |

Track record

Benchmark

21 / 22

test cases passed, vs 17 / 22 without

Adoption

Users: 0
Times used: 0

Safety and source details

SkillSafety

✓ 3 of 3 passed

Code scan15 of 15 checks clean

0 critical · 0 warning · 0 info — scanner v4 — 8/3/2026

View 15 scanner checks

live_secretremote_code_executionreverse_shelldata_exfiltrationssrf_metadataagent_snoopinganti_refusaldestructive_commandsobfuscated_unicodeunicode_homoglyphopaque_blobsuspicious_urltool_overreachtrigger_abuseprompt_injection_phrasing

IntentSafe

LLM judge · does the skill do what it claims

ContentClean

LLM judge · policy & harmful-content review

Source

Imported

asgard-ai-platform / skills

grad-sdt/SKILL.md

View on GitHub ↗

License MITImported 8/3/2026Version v1

More skills from the same source and nearby in the registry, with their headline benchmark lift.

Ready to supercharge your AI agents?

See it in action

What's inside

Self-Determination Theory (SDT)

Overview

When to Use

When NOT to Use

Assumptions

Methodology

Step 1 — Assess Current Motivation Quality

Track record

Benchmark

Adoption

SkillSafety

Source

Related skills