Extrinsic Motivation
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The field of motivational research has
placed much importance on the distinction between intrinsic and
extrinsic motivation (e.g., Ryan et al., 1996). Motivation is said
to be intrinsic when an individual pursues a goal for its own sake.
That is, reaching the goal is not just a step in attaining some
further goal. For example, eating an ice cream cone for pleasure or
marrying for love are intrinsically motivated acts. Motivation is
said to be extrinsic when a goal is a stepping-stone to some further
goal. For example, eating an ice cream cone solely to gain weight or
marrying solely to improve one’s social position are extrinsically
motivated acts. Acts that are purely extrinsically motivated yield
only one kind of satisfaction: the satisfaction of moving closer to
attaining some other source of satisfaction.
The
examples indicate that the same kind of act may be motivated
intrinsically, extrinsically, or in bothways. However, some kinds of
goal are generally more likely to be motivated intrinsically (e.g.,
visiting a national park) and others more likely to be motivated
extrinsically (e.g., becoming rich). The balance of an individual’s
motivational structure in this regard—that is, whether the
individual’s motivation is more often intrinsic or extrinsic—is
associated with overall feelings of well-being and satisfaction with
life and work (Kasser & Ryan, 2001; Ryan et al., 1996; Schmuck,
2001).
Nevertheless,
it is important to keep in mind that any extrinsically motivated act,
which is a step toward some other goal, is part of a chain of acts and
subgoals that ultimately lead to an intrinsically motivated goal. What
may very well be more important than whether particular goals are
intrinsically or extrinsically motivated is whether the intrinsically
motivated goal at the end of the chain is appetitive (e.g., a happy
home) or aversive (e.g., keeping from angering one’s mate). People
with more aversive goals are generally less satisfied with life and
work than those with fewer aversive goals (Elliot & Sheldon, 1998;
Roberson, 1989; Roberson & Sluss, Chapter 14, this volume).
Satisfaction presumably also depends on whether the ultimate
intrinsically motivated goal is worth all the bother of the
extrinsically motivated activity leading up to it.
It
is important not to confuse the intrinsic versus extrinsic distinction
with whether a goal was self-chosen or chosen by someone else.
Similarly, the distinction is not to be confused with whether another
person plays a role in the rewards of attaining a goal. Goals imposed
on one by others, or perhaps even just suggested by others, are likely
to be extrinsically motivated, in that pursuing the goal is likely to
have the further purpose of keeping the person who imposed it happy.
Thus, the child will carry out the trash when asked to do so because
of a desire to keep the parent’s emotional support. Keeping that
support, however, may be in part intrinsically motivated, in that the
child enjoys for its own sake relating to a supportive parent.
Conversely, self-chosen goals may be extrinsically motivated (for
example, taking a difficult college course in order to upgrade one’s
credentials for future employment) as well as intrinsically motivated.
In
summary, it is a mistake to equate—as some current writers appear to
do—intrinsic motivation with desirable motivation and extrinsic with
undesirable. Both are important and necessary. However, the balance
between them in an individual’s life and the concrete forms they
take can affect overall happiness.
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