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What Is Motivation?

Motivation is what drives human behavior and can be intrinsic, coming from within, or extrinsic, influenced by external factors. Intrinsic motivation involves engaging in activities for enjoyment, interest, challenge or personal satisfaction rather than for external rewards. Extrinsic motivation involves doing things for rewards like money, praise or avoiding punishment. Both types of motivation activate and direct goal-oriented behaviors.

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David Mukunza
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154 views4 pages

What Is Motivation?

Motivation is what drives human behavior and can be intrinsic, coming from within, or extrinsic, influenced by external factors. Intrinsic motivation involves engaging in activities for enjoyment, interest, challenge or personal satisfaction rather than for external rewards. Extrinsic motivation involves doing things for rewards like money, praise or avoiding punishment. Both types of motivation activate and direct goal-oriented behaviors.

Uploaded by

David Mukunza
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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What Is Motivation?

Motivation is the process that initiates, guides, and maintains goal-oriented


behaviors. It is what causes you to act, whether it is getting a glass of water
to reduce thirst or reading a book to gain knowledge.

Motivation involves the biological, emotional, social, and cognitive forces


that activate behaviour. In everyday usage, the term "motivation" is
frequently used to describe why a person does something. It is the driving
force behind human actions.

Motivation doesn't just refer to the factors that activate behaviors; it also
involves the factors that direct and maintain these goal-directed actions
(though such motives are rarely directly observable). As a result, we often
have to infer the reasons why people do the things that they do based on
observable behaviors.

Intrinsic motivation

Intrinsic motivation is the act of doing something without any obvious


external rewards. You do it because it’s enjoyable and interesting, rather
than because of an outside incentive or pressure to do it, such as a reward
or deadline.

An example of intrinsic motivation would be reading a book because you


enjoy reading and have an interest in the story or subject, rather than
reading because you have to write a report on it to pass a class.

Intrinsic motivation theory

There have been a number of different proposed theories to explain intrinsic


motivation and how it works. Some experts believe that all behavior is driven
by external reward, such as money, status, or food. In intrinsically
motivated behaviors, the reward is the activity itself.

The most recognized theory of intrinsic motivation was first based on


people’s needs and drives. Hunger, thirst, and sex are biological needs that
we’re driven to pursue in order to live and be healthy.

Just like these biological needs, people also have psychological needs that
must be satisfied in order to develop and thrive. These include the need for
competence, autonomy, and relatedness.

Along with satisfying these underlying psychological needs, intrinsic


motivation also involves seeking out and engaging in activities that we find
challenging, interesting, and internally rewarding without the prospect of
any external reward.
Intrinsic motivation comes from within, while extrinsic motivation arises
from outside. When you’re intrinsically motivated, you engage in an activity
solely because you enjoy it and get personal satisfaction from it.

Intrinsic motivation examples

You’ve likely experienced examples of intrinsic motivation throughout your


entire life without giving it much thought.

Some examples of intrinsic motivation are:

 participating in a sport because it’s fun and you enjoy it rather than
doing it to win an award
 learning a new language because you like experiencing new things,
not because your job requires it
 spending time with someone because you enjoy their company and
not because they can further your social standing
 cleaning because you enjoy a tidy space rather than doing it to avoid
making your spouse angry
 playing cards because you enjoy the challenge instead of playing to
win money
 exercising because you enjoy physically challenging your body instead
of doing it to lose weight or fit into an outfit
 volunteering because you feel content and fulfilled rather than
needing it to meet a school or work requirement
 going for a run because you find it relaxing or are trying to beat a
personal record, not to win a competition
 taking on more responsibility at work because you enjoy being
challenged and feeling accomplished, rather than to get a raise or
promotion
 painting a picture because you feel calm and happy when you paint
rather than selling your art to make money

How to practice better intrinsic motivation

The following are some things you can do to help you practice better
intrinsic motivation:

 Look for the fun in work and other activities or find ways to make
tasks engaging for yourself.
 Find meaning by focusing on your value, the purpose of a task, and
how it helps others.
 Keep challenging yourself by setting attainable goals that focus on
mastering a skill, not on external gains.
 Help someone in need, whether it’s a friend who could use a hand at
home or lending a hand at a soup kitchen.
 Create a list of things you genuinely love to do or have always wanted
to do and choose something on the list to do whenever you have time
or are feeling uninspired.
 Participate in a competition and focus on the camaraderie and how
well you perform instead of on winning.
 Before starting a task, visualize a time that you felt proud and
accomplished and focus on those feelings as you work to conquer the
task.

Ways to intrinsically motivate your employees

 Find out who they are and what they want.


 Evaluate the employee's work/life stage.
 Tailor the motivation the company or department.
 Focus on personalities.
 Use flexibility as motivation.
 Provide career help and advice.
 Help your employees learn.

Extrinsic motivation

Extrinsic motivation is reward-driven behavior. It’s a type of operant


conditioning. Operant conditioning is a form of behavior modification that
uses rewards or punishments to increase or decrease the likelihood that
specific behaviors will recur.

In extrinsic motivation, rewards or other incentives — like praise, fame, or


money — are used as motivation for specific activities. Unlike intrinsic
motivation, external factors drive this form of motivation.

Being paid to do a job is an example of extrinsic motivation. You may enjoy


spending your day doing something other than work, but you’re motivated
to go to work because you need a paycheck to pay your bills. In this
example, you’re extrinsically motivated by the ability to afford your daily
expenses. In return, you work a set number of hours a week to receive pay.

Extrinsic motivation doesn’t always have a tangible reward. It can also be


done through abstract rewards, like praise and fame.

Examples of extrinsic motivation

Extrinsic motivation can be used to motivate you to do various different


things. If there’s a known reward tied to the task or outcome, you may be
extrinsically motivated to complete the task.

Examples of external extrinsic rewards include:


 competing in sports for trophies
 completing work for money
 customer loyalty discounts
 buy one, get one free sales
 frequent flyer rewards

Examples of psychological extrinsic rewards include:

 helping people for praise from friends or family


 doing work for attention, either positive or negative
 doing tasks for public acclaim or fame
 doing tasks to avoid judgment
 completing coursework for grades

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