Even if you weren’t necessarily motivated by the possibility of getting good grades, your parents probably were. This is one of the most common sources of extrinsic motivation and one we will all recognize. We can use this to our advantage by promising to buy ourselves something nice if we complete a certain task or activity. How much money do you spend at fairs or carnivals trying to win those silly little prizes the game booths offer? What about the fun prizes your friend offered for winning the games at her baby shower? Prizes are often great external motivators. The idea of that extra money is likely motivating you to work harder and impress your boss. You can also see this is the raise you’re trying to get to get at work. When you’re listening to the radio, have you noticed that many talk shows offer monetary rewards for “calling in” or participating in this or that activity? This is an example of a reward causing extrinsic motivation to increase your interest in playing. After all, not everything you do can be highly enjoyable and fulfilling, right? However, if you need to accomplish something that you may not quite feel like doing, extrinsic rewards often can push you through that extra mile you need to get to the finish line, especially when it comes to the areas of academia (think grades) and work (job, salaries, and recognition). Regardless, external motivators can still cause you to take action. It’s a phenomenon called the “overjustification effect.” Simply put, if you enjoyed doing something and started to get rewarded for it, your inner drive to do it will progressively go down. You start from a different mindset, and you end up with a different result.įinally, studies tell us that extrinsic motivation can interfere with the internal ones and actually decrease it. It likely has to do with the “want to” vs. There is also some research to attest that when we are extrinsically driven, the quality of our performance, persistence, and creativity are not just as good as with the intrinsic motivators. It simply means that we quickly get used to the good stuff. When used properly, it can also deliver, but you need to read the fine print.įirstly, external motivators are susceptible to the so-called Hedonic treadmill (aka Hedonic adaptation). Extrinsic motivation is a good performer in its own right. So, intrinsic incentives seem to be the winner, no doubt, but this doesn’t mean that we should abandon external rewards as being ineffective. Research confirms over and over that internal motivation is the preferred way to go if a person wants to have a consistent drive to complete tasks, perform better, or improve themselves. You can find out more about the different types of motivation here: 9 Types of Motivation That Make It Possible to Reach Your Dreams How Well Does It Work? # In contrast, if they do it because they find it interesting or believe that this will help them practice and improve their skills, they are internally driven.īoth types of motivation work to get us moving, but the intensity, desire, and quality of our outcomes can be different. Let’s look at an example to define the differences between extrinsic and intrinsic incentives and how they motivate us.Ī student who does their homework because they fear parental sanctions is motivated extrinsically. When we are young good grades and awards motivate us to do well in school.Īs we grow older, extrinsic motivation becomes impactful at work – we want to perform better in our careers in order to get more money, more status, or anything else that would bring us independence. It comes from outside to motivate people.įrom childhood, our definition of what keeps us motivated is shaped by our family life and school. Let’s take a step back and discuss what extrinsic motivation mean.Įxtrinsic motivation is an external incentive that encourages us to do a specific activity in order to gain a reward or avoid a punishment. It’s quick, tangible, and can often be specifically measured and adjusted (think bonuses), and even get us to take action. Simply put, extrinsic rewards don’t hold up for long.Īnd yet, there is also no denying that extrinsic motivation works. It still does the job to get us moving, but not quite at the same level as its twin, and not for long. According to studies, extrinsic incentives can’t quite measure up to their better half-the intristic motivation. The above are just a few extrinsic motivation examples.
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