Reflection 5

"Motivations"

In the basic armchair-psychologist definitions of motivation, intrinsic motivation comes from within (doing something because you want to), and extrinsic motivation comes from without (doing something because you will be rewarded). Intrinsic motivations stem from positive feelings, and extrinsic motivations involve the reception of physical rewards. The distinction lies in that extrinsic motivators are not tied to the behaviors they motivate, whereas intrinsically motivating behaviors are both the motivation and the behavior.

In the salient case of schooling, intrinsic motivation for learning class material comes from a natural desire to learn that material, and extrinsic motivation comes from grades, irrespective of the material to be learned. More accurately, though, the extrinsic motivation comes from a desire to get a good grade. In both cases, learning is motivated by the desire of a reward (i.e. positive feelings or grades). All motives can be viewed from this framework: behaviors that will be rewarded will motivate (or in psych-speak, behaviors that lessen a state of deprivation will motivate).

Good grades are an interesting motivator, though. Although they may carry some value for an individual in the form of self-worth or sense of accomplishment, they serve primarily as a means of getting into better schools, securing better jobs and salaries, and advancing in life. A chain of motives can be formed: I want a high salary; this desire motivates me to secure good grades; this in turn motivates me to learn the material for my classes. Getting good grades is not my ultimate motive as a student. Indeed, a high salary is not the ultimate motive either: that is motivated by a desire to be financially stable, which in turn is motivated by a lot of things including autonomy, not having to worry about essentials like food and shelter, being able to provide for my (at this point hypothetical) family, etc.

Steven Reiss calls these ultimate motivations "end motives," and any other motivations that lead to them "instrumental motives." In a paper from the Review of General Psychology, he posits that humans have 16 distinct end motives, including

1. Power
2. Curiosity
3. Independence
4. Status
5. Social contact
6. Vengeance
7. Honor
8. Idealism
9. Physical exercise
10. Romance
11. Family
12. Order
13. Eating
14. Acceptance
15. Tranquility
16. Saving

He argues several interesting hypotheses, stating that all instrumental motives can be traced back through a chain of motives to an end motive. Individuals may vary in which end motive is strongest in them and where their ideal spot is within that motive (e.g. some people are motivated to have a lot of power, others are motivated to give up power and be subservient); however, all behaviors are motivated by these end motives.

Additionally, the end motives all have dimensions of intrinsic motivation--you feel good when you are at your desired level of each of them. This means that all motives, even instrumental motives, have at least some element of intrinsic motivation: they can all be traced back to end motives. Even so-called extrinsic motivations have roots in intrinsic motivation. Applied to the school example, this means that working for good grades is also a form of being intrinsically motivated: I am working to get a good salary and become financially independent, which will help me achieve my desired levels of several end motives (like status, family, order, independence, etc.). This will make me feel good; therefore I am intrinsically motivated.

I disagree that this trivializes the notion of extrinsic motivation (and its worth compared with intrinsic motivation), however. Take the school example once more: When learning is extrinsically motivated, an instrumental motive toward some later purpose, the learning is not necessarily retained. Once it has been learned, it may be forgotten without fear of retribution. When learning is intrinsically motivated, that is, when learning is an end motive rather than an instrumental motive, it sticks better. When knowledge is obtained to satisfy the end motive of curiosity, it is better internalized. Learning will be better achieved when pursued as an end motive than as an instrumental motive.