Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation

When people are told they are extrinsically motivated, they probably get mad.  Doing things only because you want a reward makes you kind of seem selfish.  Everyone strives to be able to say they are intrinsically motivated, because the thought behind this is that people are motivated by their strong morals and values. Kendra Cherry, a psychology expert wrote about the Differences Between Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

• Extrinsic Motivation- a form of motivation that comes from outside influences (ie: money, benefits, better grades)
• Intrinsic Motivation- a form of motivation that comes from personal morals and thoughts (ie: personal gratification, happiness)

The truth is, everybody is both extrinsically and intrinsically motivated.  Everyone works harder when they want something, and everyone does things based on morals.  Whether you realize it or not, so do you. Whether you are being told, "If you get all A's, then you can go on spring break with your friends," or you think to yourself, "I'm going to get straight A's so I can feel satisfied with how hard I worked and what I accomplished," you are being motivated.

Extrinsic motivations should be avoided when people are already intrinsically motivated to do something.  Adding an extrinsic motivator can add unnecessary pressure, stress, and eventually can lead to a decision to stop completing the activity altogether.

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Extrinsic Criticisms:

It’s easy to lose interest in things, and people who are only extrinsically motivated to do something, stop caring a lot easier.  Once you’ve become used to getting rewarded for something, like maybe $20 for cleaning your room, at first, you’ll put all your clothes away folded nicely, but after a while, you might just want the money and shove all your clothes at the bottom of your closet.

Ways to Make Them Both Work:

Intrinsic motivation works extremely well alongside extrinsic motivation in certain situations.  If someone loves learning about a subject, then get’s an A on a test and their parents take them out to dinner, the student won’t lose the desire to learn about a subject because they liked the subject before they were motivated.  Unexpected external rewards lead to the best and most successful outcomes.

Positive feedback can increase a person’s internal motivation to continue doing what they’re doing, or even work harder at what they’re doing.  When people are told they are exceeding at what they like, or even doing better than others, it will subconsciously boost their want to excel at what they’re doing.