THE 9 TYPES OF MOTIVATION ACCORDING TO PSYCHOLOGY (WITH EXAMPLES) - GEOGRAFÍA - 2025

The types of motivation are intrinsic, extrinsic, amotivation, positive, negative, primary, social, basic and everyday motivation. To achieve a goal, individuals must have that goal well defined, and possess the necessary skills, activation and energy.

In addition, you must be aware to maintain that energy in the activity for long periods of time (which can be very long) until you reach the established goal.

Motivation means the energy or drive a person feels to do something. Being motivated then carries an impetus or inspiration to act until the desired goal is achieved.

It is usually considered as a unitary phenomenon but that can be variable for each task that we carry out, ranging from a small motivation to achieve the objective to a large amount of it.

But motivation not only varies in the level at which it is presented, but also in orientation, there are different types. The concept of orientation includes the underlying attitudes and goals that produce motivation, that is, they would be the different phenomena that cause it and maintain it Deci and Ryan (2000).

For example, a person may be very involved in a certain task, such as researching a specific topic because they are interested in knowing more or because they need to do a job to get a good grade in class.

These small variations associated with motivation would constitute the different types that the authors have tried to define over time.

This phenomenon involves a set of interrelated perceptions, values, beliefs, interests and actions. Motivation changes and increases with age, in addition, its form of appearance in children, predicts its characteristics later in life (Lai, 2011).

Types of motivation

Intrinsic motivation

The most frequent distinction consists of intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation (Deci and Ryan, 1985).

Intrinsic motivation is centered on the individual himself, and refers to carrying out a behavior because it is interesting, pleasant or pleasant for the person. In this way, the activity is performed for inherent satisfaction rather than external pressures or rewards.

The forces that usually move people in this type of motivation are novelty, the feeling of challenge or challenge, or the aesthetic value for that person.

This phenomenon began to be observed in animals, when researchers contemplated their behavior, they realized that many beings show natural behaviors that are playful, exploratory, or simply come from curiosity; even if they did not get any external or instrumental reinforcement or reward (White, 1959). Rather, what moves them to act are the positive experiences associated with developing the capacities of each one.

Healthy human beings are, from birth and by nature, explorers, curious and active. For this reason, they have an innate predisposition to know the world, discover it and learn from it; without needing any extra incentive to push them.

Thanks to these exploration and curiosity abilities, physical, cognitive and social growth will be facilitated.

According to research, intrinsic motivation lasts longer and involves better learning and a significant increase in creativity. Traditionally, educators consider this type of motivation more desirable and lead to better learning outcomes than extrinsic motivation.

However, research suggests that motivation can be shaped through certain instructional practices, although studies present both positive and negative effects (Lai, 2011).

Extrinsic motivation

It is a type of transitory motivation that refers to the energy that appears to carry out a certain behavior with the aim of obtaining some external benefit, although this activity is not intrinsically interesting.

Many times we do things that are not to our liking, but if we do them we know that an important reward will come for us. This would basically be extrinsic motivation.

This type of motivation is more frequent after early childhood, when the freedom provided by intrinsic motivation has to be modulated to begin to adapt to the demands of the environment.

There are many tasks that are not intrinsically interesting for the person, but they have to start doing them. As children, we have to learn that we have to make the bed or put away our clothes and it is probably not a task that implies internal or intrinsic motivation.

Rather, it is usually our parents who give us small rewards such as "if you make the bed, then you can play", motivating us in an extrinsic way.

In fact, it seems that, as one progresses in school, intrinsic motivation becomes weaker and gives way to extrinsic motivation. This happens because in school we have to learn all kinds of subjects and topics, and many of them may not be interesting or fun for children.

Within this type, Deci and Ryan (1985) identify several subtypes depending on how focused it is on the individual or on the outside:

- External regulation: it is the least autonomous form of extrinsic motivation and refers to the behaviors that are carried out to cover an external demand or obtain a reward.

This subtype is the only one recognized by the defenders of operant conditioning (such as FB Skinner), since these theories focus on the behavior of the individual and not on his "internal world".

- Introjected regulation: refers to a motivation that appears when people perform an activity in order to avoid anxiety or guilt, or to increase pride or increase their worth. As we can see, it is closely associated with self-esteem, specifically with maintaining or increasing it.

It is not considered intrinsic, natural or fun for the person because it is seen as the performance of tasks to achieve an end.

- Identified regulation: this form is somewhat more autonomous, and means that the individual begins to give personal importance to a behavior, looking for its value.

For example, a child who memorizes multiplication tables because it is relevant for him to be able to perform more complex calculations would have a motivation of this type because he has identified with the value of that learning.

- Integrated regulation: this is the most autonomous form of extrinsic motivation, and it occurs when the identification (the previous phase) has already been fully assimilated for the person. It is seen as a regulation that the person makes of herself, observing herself and integrating it with her values and needs. The reasons why a task is done are internalized, assimilated and accepted.

It is a type of motivation very similar in some things to the intrinsic one, but they differ in that integration motivation has an instrumental objective despite being volitional and valued by the person.

These subtypes can constitute a process that progresses throughout life, in such a way that individuals internalize the values ​​of the tasks they carry out and each time they are closer to integration.

Although it should be mentioned that each activity does not have to go through all the phases, but rather new tasks that involve any degree of extrinsic motivation can be started. This will depend on previous experiences or the environment in which you are at that time.

Positive motivation

It is about starting a series of activities in order to achieve something that is desirable and pleasant, having a positive connotation. It is accompanied by an achievement or well-being when doing the task that reinforces the repetition of that task.

That is, if a child recites the alphabet in front of his parents and they congratulate him, he will be more likely to repeat this behavior. Above all, if reciting the alphabet is fun for the child (and if it is neutral, thanks to the reinforcement of the parents, it can become a pleasant task).

Negative motivation

On the other hand, negative motivation involves the performance of behaviors to avoid unpleasant results. For example, washing dishes to avoid an argument or studying to avoid failure in a subject.

This type of motivation is not highly recommended because in the long term it is not as effective and causes discomfort, anxiety. It causes people to not be focused on the task and want to do it well, but to avoid the negative consequence that may appear if they do not do it.

Amotivation or demotivation

Deci and Ryan added the concept of amotivation in 2000.

The individual has no intention to act. This occurs because a specific activity is not important to him, he does not feel competent to carry it out, or he believes that he will not get the result he wants.

Primary motivation

It refers to the performance of the individual to maintain their state of homeostasis or balance in the body. They are innate, help survival, are based on the coverage of biological needs and are present in all living beings.

The triggering motives for behavior include hunger, thirst, sex, and escape from pain (Hull, 1943). Others have even introduced the need for oxygen, to regulate body temperature, rest or sleep, elimination of waste, etc.

In any case, in human beings it is more complex, in fact, they have criticized the theory that supports this type of motivation since sometimes people enjoy exposure to risk or cause an imbalance in their internal state (such as watching movies of action or fear or going to amusement parks).

Social motivation

This is the one that is related to the interaction between individuals, and includes violence or aggression, which occurs if there are certain external keys that trigger it or come from frustrations.

Motivation for violence can appear by learning, that is; because these behaviors have been rewarded in the past, they have avoided negative experiences or have been observed in other people who are a role model for us.

Within this type of motivation is also affiliation or gregariousness, which involves those behaviors that are carried out to get to belong to a group or maintain social contact because it is adaptive and highly valued by the living being.

On the other hand, there is also doing certain tasks to achieve the recognition and acceptance of other people or achieve power over them, achieve security, acquire goods that establish you in a privileged position with respect to others, or simply satisfy the need to establish social ties.

Types of motivation in sport

According to Lozano Casero (2005), a sports psychologist, there are two other types of motivation that are more focused on sports. These are:

Basic motivation

This term is used to reflect the commitment that an athlete has with his task and entails a special interest and desire to improve his own performance.

The objective is to maintain or improve these behaviors and achieve both personal and social recognition for them (as prizes).

Everyday motivation

This, on the other hand, implies the feeling of satisfaction of the athlete for his training by himself. That is, you feel good and rewarded for your own routine physical activity regardless of other major achievements.

It is more associated with their day-to-day performance, the fun that the activity produces and the environment in which it takes place (colleagues, time of day, etc.)

Obviously, these two types of motivation tend to occur together and are linked to each other, being essential to be persistent in sports training.

References

1. Deci, EL, & Ryan, RM (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum.
2. Fuentes Melero, J. (nd). Motivation. Retrieved on July 25, 2016, from the University of Murcia.
3. Hull, CL (1943). Principles of behavior. New York: Appleton Century.
4. Lai, ER (2011). Motivation: A Literature Review. Retrieved July 25, 2016 from, Pearson's Research Reports.
5. Lozano Casero, E. (April 1, 2005). Psychology: What is motivation? Obtained from the Royal Spanish Golf Federation.
6. Motivation: positive & negative. (sf). Retrieved on July 25, 2016, from How can psychology affect performance ?.
7. Ryan, RM, & Deci, EL (2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: Classic definitions and new directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25 (1), 54-67.
8. Sharma, A. (nd). Types of Motives: Biological, Social and Personal Motives - Psychology. Retrieved on July 25, 2016, from Psychology Discussion.
9. White, RW (1959). Motivation reconsidered. Psychological Review, 66, 297–333.