SDT cultural-universality critique (Hagger et al. 2013) — autonomy's primacy may reflect Western individualism; collectivist participants sometimes show higher intrinsic motivation under authority direction; SDT defenders reply autonomy ≠ independence

Claim: Autonomy's primacy may reflect Western individualism. Some studies (e.g., Hagger et al. 2013) find collectivist-culture participants show higher intrinsic motivation under authority direction. SDT defenders reply that autonomy ≠ independence.

Additional methodological critiques: self-report measures vulnerable to social-desirability bias; the Relative Autonomy Index criticised for weak psychometrics (Chemolli & Gagné 2014).

Source: Hagger et al. (2013); Chemolli & Gagné (2014).

Confidence: Verified (limit / contested).

Why this matters for Candid: Honest framing for client conversations — SDT is a Western-developed theory and its prescriptions aren't universal. For most Candid SMB clients (Ontario, mainstream Western buyers) the prescriptions apply; for clients serving distinctly collectivist markets, flag the caveat.