Edward Lewis Deci (; was an American academic and psychologist who was 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 had been researching for 40 years. With Richard Ryan, he was the co-founder of self-determination theory, an influential contemporary motivational theory.
- Occupation
- psychologist, researcher
- Citizenship
- United States
- Born
- October 14, 1942
- Died
- February 14, 2026
