Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsExamplesHow Intrinsic Motivation WorksExtrinsic ReinforcementImportance in Daily LifeInfluential FactorsPotential Pitfalls
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Table of Contents
Examples
How Intrinsic Motivation Works
Extrinsic Reinforcement
Importance in Daily Life
Influential Factors
Potential Pitfalls
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Intrinsic motivation is defined as the motivation to engage in a behavior because of the inherent satisfaction of the activity rather than the desire for a reward or specific outcome. According to “Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior With Concept Maps,” intrinsic motivation occurs when we act without any obvious external rewards: “We simply enjoy an activity or see it as an opportunity to explore, learn, and actualize our potentials.”
The three main elements of intrinsic motivation are autonomy, purpose, and mastery.People are intrinsically motivated when they can act independently, feel that their efforts matter, and gain satisfaction from becoming more skilled.
Intrinsic motivation can be contrasted withextrinsic motivation, which involves engaging in a behavior to earn external rewards or avoidpunishment.
1:17Is It Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation?
1:17
Is It Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation?
What Are Examples of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation?Consider for a moment your motivation for reading this article. If you are reading it because you have an interest in psychology and simply want to know more about the topic of motivation, then you are acting based upon intrinsic motivation.If you are reading this article because you have to learn the information for a class and want to avoid getting a bad grade, then you are acting based onextrinsic motivation.
What Are Examples of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation?
Consider for a moment your motivation for reading this article. If you are reading it because you have an interest in psychology and simply want to know more about the topic of motivation, then you are acting based upon intrinsic motivation.If you are reading this article because you have to learn the information for a class and want to avoid getting a bad grade, then you are acting based onextrinsic motivation.
Consider for a moment your motivation for reading this article. If you are reading it because you have an interest in psychology and simply want to know more about the topic of motivation, then you are acting based upon intrinsic motivation.
If you are reading this article because you have to learn the information for a class and want to avoid getting a bad grade, then you are acting based onextrinsic motivation.
When was the last time you did something simply for the enjoyment of the activity itself? There are a number of activities that fall into this category. For instance, you may plant a garden, paint a picture, play a game, write a story, take a walk, or read a book. These may or may not produce something or provide a prize. Instead, we do them because we like to. They make us happy.
When you pursue an activity for the pure enjoyment of it, you are doing so because you are intrinsically motivated. Your motivations for engaging in the behavior arise entirely from within rather than out of a desire to gain some type of external reward, such as prizes, money, or acclaim.
Of course, that isn’t to say that intrinsically motivated behaviors do not come with their own rewards. These rewards involve creating positive emotions within the individual.
Activities can generate such feelings when they give you a sense of meaning, like participating in volunteer or church events. They may also give you a sense of progress when you see that your work is accomplishing something positive, or competence when you learn something new or become more skilled at a task.
Impact of Extrinsic Reinforcement
Researchers have discovered that offering external rewards orreinforcementsfor an already internally rewarding activity can actually make the activity less intrinsically rewarding. This phenomenon is known as theoverjustification effect.
“A person’s intrinsic enjoyment of an activity provides sufficient justification for their behavior,” explains author Richard A. Griggs in his book “Psychology: A Concise Introduction.”
“With the addition of extrinsic reinforcement, " Griggs writes, “the person may perceive the task as overjustified and then attempt to understand their true motivation (extrinsic versus intrinsic) for engaging in the activity.”
People tend to be more creative when they are intrinsically motivated.
Intrinsic Motivation in Your Life
Intrinsic motivation can drive behavior in all aspects of life, particularly in education, sports, careers, and personal pursuits.
In Education
Intrinsic motivation is an important topic in education. Teachers and instructional designers strive to develop learning environments that are intrinsically rewarding. Unfortunately, many traditional paradigms suggest that most students find learning boring, so they must be extrinsically goaded into educational activities.
In a book chapter called “Making Learning Fun: A Taxonomy of Intrinsic Motivations for Learning,” authors Thomas Malone and Mark Leeper suggest that this does not need to be the case. They identify several different ways to create learning environments that are intrinsically rewarding.
An activity is intrinsically motivating if “people engage in it for its own sake, rather than in order to receive some external reward or avoid some external punishment.” The wordsfun, interesting, captivating, enjoyable,andintrinsically motivatingare used interchangeably to describe such activities.
In Personal Pursuits
Examples of intrinsic motivation in daily life abound. If you participate in a sport because you enjoy it rather than to win awards or competitions, you’re responding to intrinsic motivation.
Another example: You try to do your best at work because your tasks and mission provide fulfillment and satisfaction, regardless of extrinsic factors such as pay and benefits.
Perhaps you maintain a beautiful garden because you enjoy planting it and watching it grow, not because the neighbors would complain if your yard were messy. Or, maybe you dress stylishly as a way to express yourself and your interest in fashion, rather than to garner attention. Whenever you do something “just for you,” you’re responding to intrinsic motivation.
Factors That Influence Intrinsic Motivation
Malone and Leeper identify these factors as increasing intrinsic motivation:
Potential Pitfalls Affecting Intrinsic Motivation
Experts have noted that offering unnecessary rewards can have unexpected costs.While we like to think that offering a reward will improve a person’smotivation, interest, and performance, this isn’t always the case.
When children are rewarded for playing with toys that they already enjoy playing with, their enjoyment of those toys, and their motivation to continue playing with them, actually decreases.
An athlete competing in a sporting event might view the winner’s prize as confirmation of competence and exceptionalism. On the other hand, some athletes might view the same prize as a sort of bribe or coercion.
The way in which the individual views the importance of different characteristics of the event impacts whether the reward will affect their intrinsic motivation for participating in that activity.
Summary
How the Premack Principle Regulates Behavior
6 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Coon D, Mitterer JO.Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior With Concept Maps. Wadsworth.Pink DH.Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us. Reprint, paperback ed. Riverhead Books; 2012.Levy A, DeLeon IG, Martinez CK, et al.A quantitative review of overjustification effects in persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.J Appl Behav Anal. 2017;50(2):206–221. doi:10.1002/jaba.359Griggs RA.Psychology: A Concise Introduction. 3rd ed. Worth Publishers.Malone TW, Lepper MR.Making learning fun: A taxonomy of intrinsic motivations for learning. In: Snow RE, Farr MJ, ed.Aptitude, Learning, and Instruction: Iii. Conative and Affective Process Analysis. Erlbaum.Boedecker J, Lampe T, Riedmiller M.Modeling effects of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards on the competition between striatal learning systems.Front Psychol. 2013;4:739. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00739
6 Sources
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Coon D, Mitterer JO.Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior With Concept Maps. Wadsworth.Pink DH.Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us. Reprint, paperback ed. Riverhead Books; 2012.Levy A, DeLeon IG, Martinez CK, et al.A quantitative review of overjustification effects in persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.J Appl Behav Anal. 2017;50(2):206–221. doi:10.1002/jaba.359Griggs RA.Psychology: A Concise Introduction. 3rd ed. Worth Publishers.Malone TW, Lepper MR.Making learning fun: A taxonomy of intrinsic motivations for learning. In: Snow RE, Farr MJ, ed.Aptitude, Learning, and Instruction: Iii. Conative and Affective Process Analysis. Erlbaum.Boedecker J, Lampe T, Riedmiller M.Modeling effects of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards on the competition between striatal learning systems.Front Psychol. 2013;4:739. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00739
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Coon D, Mitterer JO.Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior With Concept Maps. Wadsworth.Pink DH.Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us. Reprint, paperback ed. Riverhead Books; 2012.Levy A, DeLeon IG, Martinez CK, et al.A quantitative review of overjustification effects in persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.J Appl Behav Anal. 2017;50(2):206–221. doi:10.1002/jaba.359Griggs RA.Psychology: A Concise Introduction. 3rd ed. Worth Publishers.Malone TW, Lepper MR.Making learning fun: A taxonomy of intrinsic motivations for learning. In: Snow RE, Farr MJ, ed.Aptitude, Learning, and Instruction: Iii. Conative and Affective Process Analysis. Erlbaum.Boedecker J, Lampe T, Riedmiller M.Modeling effects of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards on the competition between striatal learning systems.Front Psychol. 2013;4:739. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00739
Coon D, Mitterer JO.Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to Mind and Behavior With Concept Maps. Wadsworth.
Pink DH.Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us. Reprint, paperback ed. Riverhead Books; 2012.
Levy A, DeLeon IG, Martinez CK, et al.A quantitative review of overjustification effects in persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.J Appl Behav Anal. 2017;50(2):206–221. doi:10.1002/jaba.359
Griggs RA.Psychology: A Concise Introduction. 3rd ed. Worth Publishers.
Malone TW, Lepper MR.Making learning fun: A taxonomy of intrinsic motivations for learning. In: Snow RE, Farr MJ, ed.Aptitude, Learning, and Instruction: Iii. Conative and Affective Process Analysis. Erlbaum.
Boedecker J, Lampe T, Riedmiller M.Modeling effects of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards on the competition between striatal learning systems.Front Psychol. 2013;4:739. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00739
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