I

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation study for a test in order to receive an

A. Extrinsic motivation is multidimensional and
Lisa Legault varies from completely external (e.g., washing
Clarkson University, Potsdam, NY, USA dishes to get an allowance) to completely internal
(e.g., engaging in recycling because one perceives
oneself to be an environmentally responsible
Synonyms citizen).

Intrinsic motivation – interest, enjoyment, inher-

ent satisfaction Introduction: The Intrinsic-Extrinsic
Extrinsic motivation – instrumental motivation, Distinction
noninherent motivation
Early research on intrinsic motivation (IM) began
with the investigation into how extrinsic rewards
Definitions affected intrinsic motivation for an interesting
task. Initial studies found that if an individual
Intrinsic motivation (IM) refers to engagement in engaged freely in an activity (out of interest) and
behavior that is inherently satisfying or enjoyable. was subsequently offered an external reward such
IM is noninstrumental in nature, that is, intrinsi- as money (Deci 1971) or points (Lepper
cally motivated action is not contingent upon any et al. 1973) for engaging in that activity, then
outcome separable from the behavior itself. intrinsic motivation toward the activity declined.
Rather, the means and end are one and the same. Although these initial findings were controversial
For example, a child may play outdoors – running, because they challenged operant theories of
skipping, jumping – for no other reason than behavioral reinforcement, a subsequent meta-
because it is fun and innately satisfying. analysis affirmed that when extrinsic rewards are
Conversely, Extrinsic motivation (EM) refers expected and tangible, they indeed undermine
to performance of behavior that is fundamentally intrinsic motivation for an activity (Deci
contingent upon the attainment of an outcome that et al. 1999). The main reason for this undermining
is separable from the action itself. In other words, effect is because extrinsic rewards tend to shift the
EM is instrumental in nature. It is performed in individual’s reasons for performing the behavior
order to attain some other outcome. For instance, from internal (e.g., interest, fun) to external (e.g.,
a teenager might wash dishes at home in order to to receive the reward), thus changing the source of
receive an allowance. Similarly, a student may the motivation and locus of causality for action.
# Springer International Publishing AG 2016
V. Zeigler-Hill, T.K. Shackelford (eds.), Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_1139-1
2 Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

Although intrinsic motivation is considered the extrinsic – because personal autonomy is

most optimal form of motivation and is associated compromised. For instance, it has been found
with various benefits – including enjoyment, per- that threats of punishment (Deci and Cascio
sistence, and psychological well-being (Deci and 1972), deadlines (Amabile et al. 1976), and sur-
Ryan 2008), extrinsic motivators are sometimes veillance (Plant and Ryan 1985) all work to
thought to be helpful to promote action for behav- diminish intrinsic motivation and increase extrin-
iors that are not intrinsically interesting (e.g., sic motivation.
recycling, doing homework, obeying traffic Perceived competence also affects intrinsic
laws). In other words, the desire to entice or com- motivation. When the social environment under-
pel people to comply with standards of socially mines perceived competence, intrinsic motivation
desirable behavior is sometimes at odds with the decreases; in contrast, when the social environ-
preservation and promotion of individual auton- ment increases perceived competence in an activ-
omy and intrinsic motivation. Mounting evidence ity, then intrinsic motivation rises. For instance,
suggests, however, that despite the initial ease and positive feedback (e.g., verbal praise) tends to fuel
allure of extrinsic motivators, they carry a sub- perceptions of personal effectance and bolster
stantive cost to learning and the development of intrinsic motivation. Interestingly, however, this
autonomous self-sustaining behavior (Kohn strengthening effect of positive feedback on
1999). After all, the use of incentives and rewards intrinsic motivation requires that the individual
to motivate people decreases the likelihood that also experience autonomy in performing the
genuine interest and self-generated motivation action, in addition to feeling competent.
will develop and persist.

Different Forms of Extrinsic Motivation

Influences on Intrinsic and Extrinsic
Motivation Intrinsic motivation characterizes behaviors that
are fun, interesting, and optimally challenging.
Intrinsic motivation is a natural human When activities are void of these qualities, there
tendency – in other words, people will actively will be little motivation to engage in them – unless
strive toward doing the things they find interesting incentives are available or external/social contin-
or enjoyable. However, in order for intrinsic moti- gencies are made salient, that is, unless there
vation to flourish, the social environment must exists extrinsic motivation. Not all extrinsic moti-
nurture it. Social contexts exert an influence on vation is the same, however, and some forms of
the experience of intrinsic motivation by affecting extrinsic motivation feel more self-endorsed and
perceived autonomy and competence. self-concordant than others. Rather than being a
In general, when the social environment sup- one-dimensional construct, extrinsic motivation is
ports autonomy by increasing an internal per- a broad class of motivations that range in the
ceived locus of causality (i.e., the behavior stems extent to which they are autonomous, that is, the
from personal choice and internal causation rather extent to which they stem from an internal per-
than external pressure), then intrinsic motivation ceived locus of causality and sense of personal
is enhanced. In contrast, when the social environ- volition. Therefore, even if an activity is not fun or
ment neglects or thwarts autonomy by increasing enjoyable (and thus not intrinsically motivated), it
an external perceived locus of causality (e.g., by may nonetheless be internally regulated as
offering extrinsic rewards or making demands), opposed to externally controlled.
then intrinsic motivation is undermined. Thus, to Self-determination theory (Deci and Ryan
the extent that the social environment uses con- 1985) proposes a continuum of extrinsic motiva-
trolling behavioral strategies and external con- tion that ranges in terms of the level of
straints, reinforcers, and punishers, then internalization – that is, the degree to which
motivation will become less intrinsic and more behavior is self-determined (see Fig. 1). The
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation 3

Type of Extrinsic Nature of External Underlying Reason for Example

Motivation Contingency Behavior
External Regulation Consequences, To receive or avoid a “I avoid making
incentives, compliance consequence; to fulfill prejudiced comments
an external so that other people
requirement will think I’m
nonprejudiced”
Introjected Regulation Feelings of internal Because it “should” be “I avoid acting in a
pressure; to avoid guilt done prejudiced manner
or to boost the ego because I would feel
bad about myself if I
didn’t”
Identified Regulation Personal valuing of a Because it is important “I avoid being
behavior, sense of prejudiced because it is
importance an important goal”
Integrated Regulation Expression of self and Because it reflects core “I avoid being
identity; congruence values and self/identity prejudiced because I
with self and other see myself as a
values nonprejudiced person”

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation, Fig. 1 Types of extrinsic motivation applied to the example of motivation to
regulate racial prejudice (Adapted from Legault et al. 2007)

most external form – external regulation – refers Because of this, integrated behavior is associated
to behavior that is controlled mainly through with feelings of self-integration and psychological
external factors (e.g., deadlines, rewards, direc- well-being (Weinstein et al. 2011). Despite being
tives, punishers). This type of behavior serves highly internalized, integrated regulation is none-
mostly to satisfy external demands, and so the theless extrinsic because it serves the expression
source of motivation and causality for behavior of something other than pure enjoyment or inter-
is external rather than internal. Introjected regu- est (i.e., deeply held values or beliefs, core
lation refers to behavior wherein external pres- identity).
sures have been partially deflected inward, but
not truly adopted or internalized. This type of
motivation feels quite controlling, but more from Conclusion
a sense of internal rather than external pressure.
Identified regulation is a more autonomous form Whereas intrinsic motivation denotes the perfor-
of extrinsic motivation and denotes the point at mance of an action out of interest or enjoyment,
which behavior becomes internally governed and extrinsic motivation arises from an externally or
self-endorsed. This type of regulation occurs socially created reason to perform an action.
when the individual values or identifies with the Extrinsic motivators such as money or other
outcome of the activity. Although identifications rewards can produce extrinsic motivation due to
feel autonomously chosen, they may nonetheless the fact that they generate desire for the conse-
be separate from the individual’s other values and quence of the activity; they do not produce desire
beliefs and thus may not reflect the person’s core to engage in the activity for its own sake. When
self or overarching value system. Finally, the most people engage in activities for extrinsic rewards,
autonomous form of extrinsic motivation, inte- their motivation is entrenched in the environment
grated regulation, refers to behavior that is fully rather than within themselves. Conversely, intrin-
internalized. At this point, identifications have sic motivation exists within the individual and can
been merged with other deeply held beliefs, be harnessed and enhanced by environments that
values, and needs. Integrated motivation feels support the individual’s autonomy and compe-
consonant with the self; such behavior serves tence. Intrinsic motivation underlies people’s nat-
almost a means of self-expression and identity. ural inclinations to seek out novelty and
4 Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

challenge, as well as to learn, develop, and grow. Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Self-determination
Unlike extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation theory: A macrotheory on human motivation, develop-
ment, and health. Canadian Psychology, 49, 182–185.
is associated creativity and vitality (Deci and Deci, E. L., Koestner, R., & Ryan, R. M. (1999). A meta-
Ryan 2008). analytic review of experiments examining the effects of
extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. Psychologi-
cal Bulletin, 125(6), 627.
Kohn, A. (1999). Punished by rewards: The trouble with
Cross-References gold stars, incentive plans, A’s, praise, and other
bribes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
▶ Self-Determination Theory Legault, L., Green-Demers, I., Grant, P., & Chung,
▶ The Need for Autonomy J. (2007). On the self-regulation of implicit and explicit
prejudice: A self-determination theory perspective.
▶ The Need for Competence Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33(5),
732–749.
Lepper, M. R., Greene, D., & Nisbett, R. E. (1973).
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