Psychologists Edward Deci and Richard Ryan developed Self-Determination Theory (SDT) to study motivation and the conditions that support it. Their foundational review describes three basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Those ideas offer a useful lens for a child facing difficult homework.
Autonomy: you still choose the work
Autonomy does not mean doing everything alone. It means having meaningful ownership over what you do and how you do it. In the experience we are designing, a child begins with a real goal, deadline, or question. Muse guides the path without taking the wheel or simply handing over the answer.
Competence: you can see yourself growing
Competence is the feeling that you are getting better at something that matters. The Muse concepts we are testing—timely feedback, small next steps, and visible skill branches—are intended to make effort and progress easier to see.
Relatedness: you are not learning alone
Even independent work feels different when someone is present without taking over. Muse is being built to sit at the desk, listen to the question, and respond with a voice and movement that make its attention easy to read. The child remains the person doing the thinking.
Why private learning matters
Many learning apps separate help from the physical worksheet. Muse is being built to work beside the real page and give guidance in context. Planned parent summaries are meant to show progress without turning every session into supervision.
The result: you come back
SDT does not provide a recipe for a perfect lesson. It gives us better questions: Does the child still own the work? Can they see themselves improving? Does the tutor feel present without taking over? Those questions shape the experience we are building.