Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Motivation

Motivation can be defined as the force or set of interior forces that drive the subject's behavior in order to achieve a particular objective. Needs are the factors that stimulate the interests and expectations of a person and make him feel motivated for a given action. People usually refer to two types of motivation when performing a task - intrinsic and the extrinsic.

Intrinsic motivation, also called personal motivation or unconscious, is the motivation that comes from the pleasure one gets from the task itself. It is the resulting satisfaction of completing a task or simply working on the same task. On the other hand, extrinsic motivation, also known as environmental motivation or conscious motivation are the factors that are translated into rewards such as money or notes. These rewards provide satisfaction and pleasure that the task itself does not provide.

With regard to the behavior of the individual, it is difficult to distinguish one type of motivation from the other, the difference residing primarily in the motive that drives a person to act. From the point of view of teaching and learning, however, both motives are important. Intrinsic motivation is crucial because it will depend on the learning process in that the student must be motivated to learn, although he may not always have a reason to participate in the learning process. On the other hand, extrinsic is important in designing strategies that stimulate student interest and be considered, in certain contexts, rewards to stimulate extrinsic motivation.

In this regard, the article by Jim Moshinskie "How To Keep E-Learners FromEscaping" presents several strategies for extrinsic motivation to use before, during and after the completion of courses online. Moshinskie concludes that pedagogical teachers essentially need to understand how their students learn best and thus provide an additional external ...