Motivation is the most critical element to success. It is this highly valuable consequence of motivation that makes it a primary concern for managers, teachers, religious leaders, coaches, health care providers, parents and others concerned with mobilizing others to act.
People are moved to act by very different types of factors. They can be motivated because they find an activity enjoyable or because there is a strong external coercion. They can be urged by an abiding interest or a bribe, or by fear of being judged and punished. These contrasts between being intrinsically motivated or externally pressured are familiar to all of us.
The theory or motivation, or Self-Determination Theory (SDT), was initially developed by Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan and has been elaborated and defined by academics from around the world. It has been studied in education, entertainment and media, health care, organizations and work, video games, physical activity and exercise and other applied domains. The nature of a person’s motivation is important because people whose motivation is genuine or self-authored have more interest, excitement and confidence, which results in enhanced performance, persistence, creativity, self-esteem and general well-being when compared to those externally controlled to act. This is true even when both groups are equally competent or effective for an activity.
People are motivated from within by interests, curiosity or care. These intrinsic motivations are not necessarily externally acknowledged, rewarded or supported, yet they can sustain efforts, passions and creativity. In other words, intrinsic motivation is behaving “for its own sake.” Threats, deadlines, directives, imposed goals, pressured evaluations and even tangible rewards diminish intrinsic motivation, while autonomy, optimal challenge and relatedness enhance it.
Whereas intrinsic motivation means doing an activity for the inherent satisfaction of the activity itself, extrinsic motivation means doing an activity to attain some form of externally driven outcome. Examples include grades, work evaluations, deadlines, status, bonuses or a fear of being judged.
Motivation is particularly valuable in education. Intrinsically motivated students are more likely to stay in school longer. Elementary students who report more autonomous motivation for doing schoolwork had greater conceptual learning and better memory. Students who have greater intrinsic motivation show more positive emotions in the classroom, more enjoyment of academic work and more satisfaction with school than do students whose motivational profiles are less autonomous.
The data unambiguously suggests that having intrinsically motivated students benefits not only the student, but society. In medicine, for example, it is imperative for the good of the individual and the community that our health care professionals are not primarily motivated by financial gain.
