Intrinsic/Extrinsic Motivation Theory
What is Intrinsic/Extrinsic Motivation Theory?
Intrinsic motivation is the motivation an individual has to participate in a given activity just for the joy of learning. The focus for the intrinsically motivated is more on the mastery or benefit of the skill or activity. Extrinsically motivated people are motivated by external factors such as rewards or praise. One is not labeled as only intrinsically or extrinsically motivated. Different activities can be either intrinsically or extrinsically motivating to different people. A theory that is a part of intrinsic motivation is self-determination theory.
What are the strengths and weaknesses of Intrinsic/Extrinsic Motivation Theory?
Intrinsic motivation is contextual and can change over time (Schunk, 2014). The same event that may have been intrinsically motivating one day can be extrinsically motivating the next. It often thought that the higher the intrinsic motivation is the lower the extrinsic. This is not the case. Intrinsic and Extrinsic motivation varies depending on the activity. Therefore a strength is definitely that one cannot lose intrinsic motivation completely. If provided with the right task a very extrinsically motivated person could become intrinsically motivated.
Which researchers are associated with Intrinsic/Extrinsic Motivation Theory?
Robert W. White (1920-1975)
White was one of the early intrinsic motivation theorists. He believed in effectance motivation which he describes in a 1959 paper as stated in Schunk, Meece, and Pintrich's Motivation in Education: Theory, Research, and Applications as:
Fitness or ability, and the suggested synonyms capability, efficiency, proficiency, and skill. It is therefore a suitable word to describe such things as grasping and exploring, crawling
and walking, attention and perception, language and thinking, manipulating and changing the surroundings, all of which promote an effective-competent-interaction with the environment. The behavior is directed, selective, and persistent, and is continued not
because it serves primary drives but because it satisfies an intrinsic need to deal with the
environment.
White was one of the early intrinsic motivation theorists. He believed in effectance motivation which he describes in a 1959 paper as stated in Schunk, Meece, and Pintrich's Motivation in Education: Theory, Research, and Applications as:
Fitness or ability, and the suggested synonyms capability, efficiency, proficiency, and skill. It is therefore a suitable word to describe such things as grasping and exploring, crawling
and walking, attention and perception, language and thinking, manipulating and changing the surroundings, all of which promote an effective-competent-interaction with the environment. The behavior is directed, selective, and persistent, and is continued not
because it serves primary drives but because it satisfies an intrinsic need to deal with the
environment.
Susan Harter
Harter based her research off the earlier work of Robert W. White. She is known for her model of effectance motivation. She holds most of White's beliefs on effectance motivation but also believes that the effects resulting from failure is an important contributor. She discusses further how the way that children deal with mastery goals and rewards in their environment needs to be taken into account (Schunk, 2014).
Harter based her research off the earlier work of Robert W. White. She is known for her model of effectance motivation. She holds most of White's beliefs on effectance motivation but also believes that the effects resulting from failure is an important contributor. She discusses further how the way that children deal with mastery goals and rewards in their environment needs to be taken into account (Schunk, 2014).
How is the motivation in Intrinsic/Extrinsic Motivation Theory applied in practical settings?
There are many ways to apply intrinsic motivation theory. The 5 aspects and 3 types of perceived control are helpful guides to apply intrinsic motivation to any setting.
5 aspects of intrinsic motivation
3 types of perceived control (From the Schunk text on pg. 252)
5 aspects of intrinsic motivation
- Preference for challenge rather than for easy work.
- Incentive to work to satisfy one's own interest and curiosity rather than to please the teacher and obtain good grades.
- Independent mastery attempts rather than dependence on the teacher.
- Independent judgment rather than reliance on the teacher's judgment.
- Internal criteria for success and failure rather than external criteria.
3 types of perceived control (From the Schunk text on pg. 252)
- Capacity beliefs: belief about personal capability with respect to ability, effort, and luck
- Strategy beliefs: expectations or perceptions about factors that influence success
- Control beliefs: expectations for doing well
Which research supports or criticizes intrinsic motivation theory?
The source below supports intrinsic motivation and adds more information that may not be found in the Schunk text.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions.
Contemporary Educational Psychology, 54-67.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions.
Contemporary Educational Psychology, 54-67.
References
Schunk, D. H. (2014). Motivation in Education: Theory, Research, and Applications . New York: Pearson Education, Inc.