Summary

Self-determination theory is hugely popular in peer reviewed psychology, while it is both a very general theory, and in nature common sense. However, it seems to be, as John Maynard Keynes argues. that “It is better to be roughly right than precisely wrong.” Psychology can hardly be blamed for being hyper-specialized, with a sloppy 370 peer-reviewed articles a day (!) on SDT, a 'common sense' theory. Two conclusions: (1) if intrinsic motivation were self-evident in our (hyperspecialized) society, not so much would be published about SDT and (2) peer review in psychology does not automatically lead to generally accepted scientific insights. For example, Newton's laws of physics don't need to be "proven" in publications hundreds of times a day.