INTRINSIC AND EXTRINSIC MOTIVATION: DIFFERENCES AND EXAMPLES - GEOGRAFÍA - 2025

The intrinsic and extrinsic motivation have great influence on human behavior. In each person one predominates more than another and knowing this can serve to increase motivation.

Motivation is the cause that leads the human being to behave or act in a specific circumstance in a certain way and not in another.

Motivation has often been spoken of as a unitary concept, but there are factors that can substantially modify the essence of actions and their consequences. This is how Ryan and Deci establish it, in a 2000 work published in the American Psychologist magazine.

According to certain authors of the psychological discipline, there are several different theories or assumptions about the way in which motivation occurs. This classification looks at the incentive that causes the act.

The type of motivation varies according to the origin of the drives that lead us to address specific objectives and not others, as well as depending on the incentives that are obtained in exchange for that activity that is carried out.

In the case of extrinsic motivation, those impulses, causes or rewards of actions have to do with factors in the external world. On the other hand, if we talk about intrinsic motivation, it is because these aspects have to do with their own interest in the task that is carried out or with the objectives of the individual who performs the action.

The concept of reward is especially important, since when the human being performs an activity or behaves in a specific way, he can expect to receive something in return or to enjoy that task in itself.

Depending on how that person behaves, you can know if the factors that have led to that behavior are external or internal. In other words, it will be possible to distinguish whether this act is related to an intrinsic or extrinsic motivation.

Intrinsic motivation. Definition and examples

The concept of intrinsic motivation is part of the Self-determination Theory of the 70s. This theory was proposed and developed by psychologists and professors Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan and focuses on the motivation behind human choices that are not conditioned by external factors.

According to this hypothesis, there are innate psychological needs in man that lead him to behave in a certain way, without the need for an external incentive to motivate such behavior.

Richard M. Ryan and Edward L. Deci define intrinsic motivation as the "inherent tendency of the human being to go out in search of novelty and challenges to expand and exercise one's capacity, to explore and to learn."

Therefore, the only objective or reward that is sought with intrinsically motivated activities is the inner development of oneself, either discovering things that were not known, acquiring knowledge or exceeding some qualities.

The concept of intrinsic motivation is of great importance for Developmental Psychology. Oudeyer, Kaplan and Hafner, in a 2007 article, affirm that exploratory activities, typical of the type of motivation we are talking about, are crucial in the development of the child. And, as various studies have shown, intrinsic motivation is closely related to cognitive and social progress.

In this type of motivation, the activity that is carried out is a way of enjoyment in itself.

However, intrinsic motivation can be encouraged through some external elements, although care must be taken with which ones are used, as they can also produce the opposite effect.

The fathers of the Self-Determination Theory, produced a review of 128 studies on the effects of external rewards on intrinsic motivation.

They concluded that tangible external rewards decreased internal motivation, while other intangible factors such as positive feedback increased it. On the other hand, negative feedback also contributed to decrease it.

On the other hand, external incentives can reduce the self-esteem generated by intrinsic motivation.

Some examples of intrinsic motivation

In intrinsic motivation, the person who performs the act finds the reward within himself.

The following examples of intrinsic motivation extrapolated to real life will help you understand this concept better:

- Attend English classes to perfect your ability to speak languages.

- Go to the gym to reduce stress and anxiety levels and feel better about yourself, mentally speaking.

- Spend time with your family because you enjoy their company.

- Go out for a drink with your friends because you have fun.

- Join a volunteer service or a solidarity cause because you feel comforted.

In all these cases the possible rewards that lead us to carry out these activities are within oneself, their emotions and generate a personal satisfaction that cannot be obtained outside.

Extrinsic motivation. Definition and examples

According to Ryan and Deci (1999), extrinsic motivation refers to the activities carried out to obtain an instrument that can be separated from said task.

The end is no longer in personal satisfaction or in the enjoyment of the activity itself, but an external reward is expected.

Extrinsic motivation can occur autonomously or not autonomously, depending on the individual's ability to choose, since there are extrinsically motivated activities that can occur as a consequence of external control.

In this sense, Ryan and Deci propose two examples to distinguish the cases of extrinsic motivation chosen by the individual and those that occur due to external pressure. For example, a young student who studies and does his homework for fear of the father's reaction to his results does not act with the same autonomy as another young man who makes an effort in his studies to go to a university with greater academic prestige.

The action is the same and both rewards are external, but in the second case the choice made by the student enjoys more autonomy.

Ryan and Déci, within their theory of self-determination, establish a second hypothesis to explain the way in which extrinsically motivated behavior occurs.

This assumption is called Organismic Integration Theory. It is here where the two authors classify the types of external motivation according to the autonomy or the capacity of choice that the individual has and that we have exemplified before. There are four types of extrinsic motivation.

- Externally regulated behavior: It is the least autonomous form of extrinsic motivation. Behaviors of this type are based exclusively on external reward, incentive or pressure.

- Introjected regulation: In this case the cause that originates the behavior is external, but the individual at the time of carrying out the activity aims to increase their self-esteem, reduce their feeling of guilt or concern.

- Regulation through identification: In this type of behavior, the individual previously analyzes the objectives or rewards that are imposed externally and understands that they are important to him.

- Integrated Regulation: It is the most autonomous form of extrinsic motivation. In this type of regulation, the person assumes external incentives in their behavior as if they were their own. This stage differs from extrinsic motivation, in that the objectives to be achieved do not belong to the internal capacities of the individual, but remain external.

Some real examples of extrinsic motivation

- Work in an office where the level of demand and stress are very high because you will get improvements in your curriculum vitae, to promote in the future and opt for a more relaxed position.

- Dieting and going to a gym to lose weight because it is what is well seen by society or by fashion.

- Study a subject that you do not like, either because you get good global grades or because with that subject you can opt for a job with better conditions than with the disciplines that really interest you by vocation.

- Carry out an activity, for example picking up the room, in exchange for obtaining parental permission to attend a party. This example is very common in the domestic environment when there are children or adolescents.

- Putting extra hours at work to obtain a greater financial reward or to get a gift or specific material incentive offered by the company.

Debate between intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation

Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation do not have to always occur separately, there are activities that can be motivated by internal and external factors.

For example, going to work can make you feel useful and about yourself, but there is an external factor that encourages you to continue working, which is the financial compensation or that you receive in return or the monthly payments that you have to face.

A 1975 study by Calder and Staw, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, has already shown that intrinsic and extrinsic motivation could interact with each other, but not act additively.

However, there is much research that shows that intrinsic and extrinsic motivation can occur together and generate positive influences on human behavior.

Carol Sansone collects in her book Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation: The Search for Optimal Motivation and Performance, collects quotes from various investigations that have demonstrated the positive influence of the coordinated performance of both types of motivation or incentives. For example, he refers to a 1981 Harter symposium in which the author stated that there were "situations in which intrinsic interest and extrinsic rewards can collaborate, as it were, to motivate learning."

The relationship between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation has always been complex.

As already mentioned in the explanatory paragraph of intrinsic motivation, there are certain external factors that can increase or decrease intrinsic motivation, at the same time as the well-being of the individual.

In this sense, there is a controversial debate about what type of incentives should be used in areas such as school, work, or simply in education at the domestic level.

Prizes of an extrinsic nature have always been implanted in society and in daily life. Economic incentives are common in companies, as well as giving a candy to a child who behaves well or who does her homework both at school and at home.

These external factors also occur in the negative sense. For example, it is not unusual to see that a child is punished for giving a bad answer.

However, these rewards and sanctions can be psychologically damaging and counterproductive to the development of behavior.

A study by Rólan Bénabou and Jean Tirole published in 2003 in The Review of Economic Studies, speaks of this controversy. A controversy influenced by the discrepancies that exist between economic and psychological principles.

For economic discipline, it is a rationale that individuals respond to incentives. In this case, conceived as external and tangible stimuli or rewards.

However, for sociologists and psychologists, rewards and punishments can be counterproductive, since they undermine the individual's inner motivation for tasks.

Bénabou and Tirole reconcile both views, the economic and the psychological, showing the adverse effects that external effects can have on intrinsic motivation and on the loss of individual interest in the task.

These harmful effects are very easy to explain with some of the early childhood techniques. For example, in some homes it is common to force children to finish a plate of a food that they dislike. This can make the child hate that dish and completely refuse to try new things, making the ritual of eating eternal.

Finally, Bénabou and Tirole conclude that incentives serve to reinforce the execution of activities in a very weak way and only in the short term. In addition, in the long term, they can have negative effects.

Therefore, it can be deduced that to motivate children and adults, in the school and work environment, as well as in daily life, it is better to use techniques that do not diminish intrinsic motivation or mental well-being. For example with a positive feedback.

References

1. Benabou, R., & Tirole, J. (2003). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation. Review of Economic Studies, 70 (3), 489-520. doi: 10.1111 / 1467-937x.00253.
2. Calder, BJ, & Staw, BM (1975). Self-perception of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31 (4), 599-605. doi: 10.1037 / h0077100.
3. Oudeyer, P., Kaplan, F., & Hafner, VV (2007). Intrinsic Motivation Systems for Autonomous Mental Development. IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation, 11 (2), 265-286. doi: 10.1109 / tevc.2006.890271.
4. Ryan, RM, & Deci, EL (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55 (1), 68-78. doi: 10.1037 // 0003-066x.55.1.68.
5. Ryan, RM, & Deci, EL (2000). Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations: Classic Definitions and New Directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25 (1), 54-67. doi: 10.1006 / ceps.1999.1020.
6. Sansone, C., & Harackiewicz, JM (2007). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: the search for optimal motivation and performance. San Diego: Academic Press.