Motivation and Emotion Final

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Davidson
Sarah Davidson
SPY 340 01
Motivation and Emotions Research Paper
October 10th, 2021
Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivations.
Motivation defined by the dictionary as “the reason or reasons one has for acting or
behaving in a particular way. Motivation is one of the most important parts of being a human as
it impacts every behavior a human can make. The latter statement meaning that every decision is
made by a motivation, that could be a motivation for oneself, but it could also be the motivation
from an outside party (Murayama). The focus of this research assignment is that of the two types
of motivations that can be the driver for these human behaviors. These types of motivations are
as follows: intrinsic motivations and extrinsic motivations. This paper will detail the two types of
motivation, along with how our current society is run by these motivations.
The first motivation that will be discussed is that of an Intrinsic motivation. An Intrinsic
motivation is used to describe behaviors that are performed because they are personally
rewarding to you(Sennet, 2021). These behaviors can also have the personal motivation of being
interesting or personally satisfying. Lisa Legault simplifies this type of motivation by explaining
it as such,” For example, a child may play outdoors –running, skipping, jumping –for no other
reason than because it is fun and innately satisfying”(Legault, 2016). Intrinsic motivations are
important as they are more appropriate for long term goals than an extrinsic motivation. Extrinsic
motivations are important in their own way but they can lead to burnout faster as they are an
external pressure(Sennet, 2021). A Scenario that would fit to explain how both motivations could
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be prioritized and used would be that of writing a book. If the book needs to be wrote for a
project and it’s a one-time thing then the person might have the motivation to finish the book to
gain the reward of a good grade. This would be an extrinsic motivation as the person is writing a
book with an external “reward” in place. while that’s the case in that scenario, it would be useful
to use the other motivation in a long term setting such as an author writing a book series for their
enjoyment and passion in writing. The motivation in that case would be an intrinsic motivation
as they are choosing to write this book because they find satisfaction in the act of writing the
book. Both motivations would be seen in an author who makes a career out of writing books, as
there would be the personal enjoyment paired with external rewards such as the monetary gains
from said book.
The second motivation to be discussed is that of Extrinsic motivations. Extrinsic
motivation “involves completing a task or exhibiting a behavior because of outside causes such
as avoiding punishment or receiving a reward(Sennet, 2021). This can be that of a child cleaning
up their toy room or completing their chores for an allowance. The external rewards for this type
of motivation can be that of “verbal praise and recognition to awards, money, job titles, prestige,
fame, popularity, degrees, or records” (Bontempi, 2020). Extrinsic motivation and Intrinsic
motivation makeup a theory called the self determination theory. This theory defines these two
types of motivation and then propose that there are varied kinds of each motivation((Ryan &
Deci, 2000). While intrinsic motivations can be characterized by qualities similar to fin, extrinsic
motivations don’t have those qualities so there must be a reward of some sorts to drive the
motivation to accomplish the task or goal. Extrinsic motivations can also vary on their level of
autonomous some activities might not be fun(which would make then not intrinsically motivated
but it would be intrinsically regulated rather than externally(Legault, 2016).

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In conclusion, there are two major types of motivations that depend on the driving factor
to complete the task. Intrinsic motivations are self-regulated as they have appealing qualities that
would lead a person to do complete the task for their own enjoyment. Extrinsic motivations are
externally controlled as they lack appealing qualities, but they make up for with end game
rewards from an outside factor. Society in the past used to follow an extrinsic motivational setup
as people worked for the reward of money and there were little time to complete activities for the
fun of it. Today however, it feels as if society is evolving into a more intrinsic motivational setup
as while people still work at jobs for the payment, more and more people are finding jobs they
enjoy or are completing simple activities that they find a personal sense of achievement with. It
will do good for society to have a blend of the two motivations, but it won’t be too harmful to
sway more towards an intrinsic motivated society.

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Works Cited
Bontempi, E. (2020, January 6). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: Implications in school, work,
and psychological well-being. Excelsior College. Retrieved December 11, 2021, from
https://www.excelsior.edu/article/types-of-motivation/.
Murayama, K. (n.d.). The science of motivation. American Psychological Association. Retrieved

December 11, 2021, from https://www.apa.org/science/about/psa/2018/06/motivation.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivations: Classic definitions and
New Directions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(1), 54–67.
https://doi.org/10.1006/ceps.1999.1020
Sennet, P. (2021, October 5). Understanding intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: Emerging
leaders: University of Rochester. Emerging Leaders. Retrieved December 11, 2021, from
https://www.rochester.edu/emerging-leaders/understanding-intrinsic-and-extrinsic-
motivation/.

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Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivations.

from said book.

The second motivation to be discussed is that of Extrinsic motivations. Extrinsic

but it would be intrinsically regulated rather than externally(Legault, 2016).

sway more towards an intrinsic motivated society.

Murayama, K. (n.d.). The science of motivation. American Psychological Association. Retrieved

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