Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation: Differences and Examples

The Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation Have a great influence on human behavior. In each person it predominates more than another and to know it can serve to increase the motivation.

Motivation is the cause that leads the human being to behave or act in a concrete circumstance in a certain way and not another.

Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

Often, there has been talk of motivation As a unitary concept, but there are factors that can substantially modify the essence of the acts and their consequences. This is established by Ryan and Deci, in a work Published in the journal American Psychologist .

According to certain authors of the psychological discipline, there are several different theories or assumptions about the way in which motivation is given. This classification attends to the incentive that the act provokes.

The type of motivation varies according to the origin of the drives that lead us to specific objectives and not to others, as well as depending on the incentives that are obtained in exchange for that activity.

In the case of extrinsic motivation, these impulses, causes or rewards of acts have to do with factors of the external world. On the other hand, if we talk about intrinsic motivation, it is because these aspects have to do with our own interest in the task that is performed or with objectives of the individual who performs the action.

The concept of reward is especially important, since when the human being performs an activity or behaves in a specific way, he can expect to receive something in return or enjoy that task in and of itself.

Depending on how that person behaves, you can tell whether the factors that have led to that behavior are external or internal. That is, it can be distinguished in itself that act is related to an intrinsic or extrinsic motivation.

Intrinsic motivation. Definition and examples

The concept of intrinsic motivation is framed within the Self-Determination Theory of the 1970s. This theory was proposed and developed by psychologists and professors Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan and focuses on the Motivation behind human choices that are not conditioned by external factors.

According to this hypothesis, there are innate psychological needs in man that lead him to behave in a certain way, without the need for an external incentive that motivates such behavior.

Richard M. Ryan and Edward L. Deci define intrinsic motivation as the"inherent tendency of the human being to go out in search of novelty and challenges to expand and exercise one's ability to explore and learn."

Therefore, the only objective or reward that is sought with the intrinsically motivated activities is the inner development of oneself, either discovering things that were not known, acquiring knowledge or getting over some qualities.

The concept of intrinsic motivation is of great importance for Developmental Psychology. Oudeyer, Kaplan and Hafner, in a Article Of 2007, affirm that the exploratory activities, typical of the type of motivation we are talking about, are crucial in the development of the child. And, as various researches have shown, intrinsic motivation is closely related to cognitive and social progress.

In this type of motivation, the activity that is performed is a way of enjoyment itself.

However, intrinsic motivation can be encouraged through some external elements, although care must be taken with which ones are used, as they can also produce the opposite effect.

The parents of the Theory of Self-Determination developed a review of 128 studies on the effects of external rewards on intrinsic motivation.

They concluded that tangible external rewards diminished inner motivation, while other intangible factors such as positive feedback increased it. However, the feedback Negative also contributed to decrease it.

On the other hand, external incentives can reduce self-esteem generated by intrinsic motivation.

Some examples of intrinsic motivation

In intrinsic motivation, the person who performs the act finds the reward within himself.

The following examples of intrinsic motivation extrapolated to real life will make you better understand this concept:

- Attend English classes to improve your ability to speak languages.

- Go to the gym to reduce levels of stress and anxiety and feel better with yourself, mentally speaking.

- Spend time with your family because you enjoy your company.

- Go out to take something with your friends because you have fun.

- Join a volunteer or solidarity cause because you feel comforted.

In all these cases the possible rewards that lead us to perform these activities are within oneself, their emotions and generate a personal satisfaction that can not be obtained outside.

Extrinsic motivation. Definition and examples

According Ryan and Deci (1999) extrinsic motivation refers to the activities that are performed to obtain a separable instrument to that task.

The end is no longer in personal satisfaction or in the enjoyment of the activity itself, but an external reward is expected.

Extrinsic motivation may occur autonomously or non-autonomously, depending on the individual's capacity for choice, as there are extrinsically motivated activities that can occur as a consequence of external control.

In this sense, Ryan and Deci propose two examples to distinguish the cases of extrinsic motivation chosen by the individual and those that are given by external pressure. For example, a young student who studies and does his homework for fear of parental reaction to his results does not act with the same autonomy as another young man who strives in his studies to go to a university of greater academic prestige.

The action is the same and both rewards are external, but in the second case the choice made by the student enjoys more autonomy.

Ryan and Déci, within their theory of self-determination, establish a second hypothesis to explain how extrinsically motivated behavior occurs.

This assumption is called Organismic Integration Theory. It is here that the two authors classify the types of external motivation depending on the autonomy or the capacity of choice that the individual has and that we have exemplified before. There are four types of extrinsic motivation.

- Behavior regulated externally: It is the least autonomous form of extrinsic motivation. Behaviors of this type are based exclusively on reward, incentive or external pressure.

- Introjected regulation: In this case the cause that causes the behavior is external, but the individual at the time of performing the activity aims to increase their self-esteem, reduce their feeling of guilt or concern.

- Regulation through identification: In this type of behavior, the individual previously analyzes the goals or rewards that are externally imposed and understand that they are important to him.

- Integrated Regulation: It is the most autonomous form of extrinsic motivation. In this type of regulation, the person assumes the external incentives as if they were their own. This stage differs from the extrinsic motivation, in which the objectives that are wanted do not belong to the internal capacities of the individual, but remain external.

Some real examples of extrinsic motivation

- Work in an office where the level of demand and stress are very high because you will get improvements in your Curriculum vitae , To promote in the future and to opt for a more relaxed position.

- Dieting and going to a gym to lose weight because it is what is well seen by society or by fashion.

- Study a subject that you do not like, either to get good global qualifications or because with this subject you can opt for a job with better conditions than with the disciplines that really interest you by vocation.

- Perform an activity, for example collect the room, in exchange for obtaining parental permission to attend a party. This example is very common in the domestic sphere when there are children or adolescents.

- Spend extra hours at work to get a greater financial reward or to get a specific material gift or incentive offered by the company.

Debate between intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation

Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation need not always be given separately, there are activities that may be motivated by internal and external factors.

For example, going to work can make you feel useful and with yourself, but there is an external factor that encourages you to keep working which is the financial compensation or that you receive in return or the monthly payments that you have to deal with.

A study 1975, by Calder and Staw, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Already demonstrated that the intrinsic and extrinsic motivation could interact between them, but not to act additive.

However, many researches have shown that intrinsic and extrinsic motivation can occur together and generate positive influences on human behavior.

Carol Sansone collects in her book Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation: The Search for Optimal Motivation and Performance Cites citations from several researches that have demonstrated the positive influence of coordinated action of both types of motivation or incentives. For example, he refers to a symposium by Harter in 1981, where the author stated that there were"situations in which intrinsic interest and extrinsic rewards can collaborate, as it were, to motivate learning."

The relationship between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation has always been complex.

As discussed in the explanatory paragraph of intrinsic motivation, there are certain external factors that can increase or decrease intrinsic motivation, at the same time as the well-being of the individual.

In this sense, there is a controversial debate about what kind of incentives should be used in areas such as school, work, or simply in the educational at home.

Extrinsic awards have always been implanted in society and in daily life. Economic incentives are common in companies, as well as giving a candy to a child who is good or doing his homework both at school and at home.

These external factors also occur in the negative sense. For example, it is not at all strange to see that a child is punished for having given a bad answer.

However, these rewards and sanctions can be psychologically detrimental and counterproductive to behavioral development.

A study Of Rólan Bénabou and Jean Tirole published in 2003 in The Review of Economic Studies , Speaks of this controversy. A controversy influenced by the discrepancies between economic and psychological principles.

For economic discipline, it is a foundation that individuals respond to incentives. In this case, conceived as stimuli or external and tangible awards.

However, for sociologists and psychologists, rewards and punishments can be counterproductive because they undermine the individual's inner motivation for tasks.

Bénabou and Tirole reconcile both economic and psychological visions, showing the adverse effects that external effects can have on intrinsic motivation and the loss of the individual's interest in the task.

These detrimental effects are very easy to explain with some of the early childhood education techniques. For example, in some homes it is common to force children to finish a dish of a meal that they dislike. This can cause the child to hate that dish and refuse to try new things, making the feeding ritual eternal.

Finally, Bénabou and Tirole conclude that the incentives serve to reinforce the execution of activities in a very weak way and only in the short term. Also in the long term, they can generate negative effects.

Therefore, it can be deduced that in order to motivate children and adults, in the school and work environment, as well as in daily life, it is better to use techniques that do not diminish intrinsic motivation or mental well-being. For example with positive feedback.

References

  1. Benabou, R., & Tirole, J. (2003). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation. Review of Economic Studies, 70 (3), 489-520. Doi: 10.1111 / 1467-937x.00253.
  2. Calder, B.J., & Staw, B. M. (1975). Self-perception of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31 (4), 599-605. Doi: 10.1037 / h0077100.
  3. Oudeyer, P., Kaplan, F., & Hafner, V. V. (2007). Intrinsic Motivation Systems for Autonomous Mental Development. IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation, 11 (2), 265-286. Doi: 10.1109 / tevc.2006.890271.
  4. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E.L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55 (1), 68-78. Doi: 10.1037 / 0003-066x.55.1.68.
  5. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E.L. (2000). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25 (1), 54-67. Doi: 10.1006 / ceps.1999.1020.
  6. Sansone, C., & Harackiewicz, J. M. (2007). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: the search for optimal motivation and performance . San Diego: Academic Press.


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