For any given behavior, Our motivations can have two radically different natures.: extrinsic and intrinsic. Intrinsic motivation is the drive that comes from within, without any ostensible external reward. The activity is done because it is inherently enjoyable and not because of an anticipated reward, deadline, or external pressure.
Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, depends on external inputs, on rewards that come from outside. The new Year's resolutions They are usually more extrinsic than intrinsic, and that is why we can barely complete 20 % of them, on average.
Passenger VS stable
Extrinsic rewards are temporary. They are very effective in the short term, but tend to dissipate in the long term. However, the disadvantages of extrinsic rewards do not end there: They can also have a negative impact on our intrinsic drive.
This can be seen, for example, in children's art. Most children love to draw. Give a child a stack of blank papers and a coloring game, and everything will be smooth sailing. Some will draw for hours on end, without interruption and without the need for extrinsic motivation.
But How to get a child to stop drawing? Simply telling them that they will be given a reward for each drawing they complete. Because the most effective way to stop this behavior is to give them an extrinsic reward. There is a slight uptick when the reward is first given, but it's all downhill from there. As the rewards start to pile up, your momentum steadily decreases. And in a short time, the child completely loses interest in the activity. And this is something that also happens with adults.
With extrinsic motivation we will find that:
- it is more difficult to concentrate;
- one is tempted to delay the task;
- You want to complete the task with a degree of quality sufficient to obtain the reward, but it does not matter whether it is perfect or achieves excellence;
- You will be much more reluctant to do it if there is no reward.
In contrast, intrinsic motivation is like an inexhaustible source. Drive behavior from within. We engage in the behavior out of a love for its own sake, regardless of its instrumental value. In that sense, behavior is integrated with our identity. We do not depend on rewards: the reward is doing it, simply, because it makes us happy or because it completes us in some way.
Keep this in mind when designing your new resolutions for 2021:
There is currently no 'masterly unified theory' to explain the origin or elements of intrinsic motivation. Most explanations combine elements of the work of Bernard Weiner on 'attribution theory', Bandura's work on 'self-efficacy' and other studies concerning 'locus of control' and 'goal theory'.
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The news
Intrinsic motivation is much more powerful than extrinsic motivation, but also more difficult to achieve
was originally published in
Xataka Science
by
Sergio Parra
.