Interesting Concepts about Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Motivation

Ø It is assumed that in our society schools are dominated by extrinsic rewards. With this heavy focus on extrinsic rewards there is a risk of learning becoming a “means to an end.” If students are only learning for the sole purpose of getting something then they are not really appreciating what they are learning. It is also thought that extrinsic rewards can interfere with a student’s creative expression.

Ø Overjustification effect: this occurs when in an attempt to encourage a task that a student already has an interest in you end up discouraging them with your praise.

o Personally, I found this to be very interesting because I would think that most teachers would want to encourage their students to be intrinsically motivated. If I was a teacher my first response to someone showing a personal interest in would be to encourage them. I never thought that by doing that I could be invalidating that interest. I guess that I never realized that by encouraging them to pursue that interest it could be antagonizing to the student. If they want to do it, they can do it without my praise.

Ø Are grades evil?

o Grades are basically the biggest extrinsic reward that there is in a school setting.

o Naturally as students get older they realize what an impact grades can have on their future when it comes to higher education.

o Some students may also begin to place all of their self-worth in to the grades that they receive. If they are unable to get the grade that they deem to be suitable then they become discouraged and instead of actually appreciating what they are learning it becomes a fight for survival.

o Unfortunately, the grading system is not one that we can get rid of. It is a vital measurement tool and if it is not in place some students might lose the motivation to do anything at all.

o Fortunately, through this particular study they found that most of the students that they interviewed (which were at the college level and at a very prestigious university, so it might be biased) were motivated intrinsically for the most part.

Ø The big question: Can intrinsic and extrinsic motivation co-exist?

o The initial response to this question is should they have to? In an ideal world people would be able to be completely intrinsically motivated. But, we do not live in an ideal world. So, even if you are intrinsically motivated to begin something, you may then develop extrinsic rewards out of doing it and it may be the extrinsic rewards that keep you doing it.

o With the realization that it would seem that intrinsic and extrinsic motivation would have to co-exist many of the paradigms in this article assume that no crossover can be achieved. If a student does extra work it is because of fear over a grade, a test, or proving oneself to a teacher. Therefore, only extrinsic things are being sought after. The same goes for if a person happens to be motivated by the satisfaction of following personal curiosity or interest. There are also people that happen to need extrinsic payoffs and don’t find satisfaction in pursing personal interest (bipolar model- two extremes of people on same continuum).

o There is also the theory that the act is its own reinforcement. Through this view if you can make activities enjoyable than students will be reinforced to do it on their own. This would hopefully lead to the students being intrinsically motivated to do it.

o My personal thoughts on this are that we do need extrinsic rewards to an extent. As a teacher though it is my goal that my students would be autonomous learners, so they would need to be weaned off of those extrinsic rewards. So, if I use extrinsic rewards to lead to further opportunities for creative expression then hopefully over time they will develop their own passion for it and they will no longer need me to give them rewards for doing it.

Ø The downfalls of failure

o When few rewards are given to those who learn the quickest students might begin to fight for self preservation.

o A competitive classroom is a failure oriented classroom and when used too much it can lead students to feel as if they are unworthy and they may develop a strong dislike for learning.

o What is even worse about a competitive classroom is that when rewards are scarce they may be withheld from someone who actually is merited to have a reward. When this is done you are actually punishing that student and hindering them and their self worth.

o IMPORTANT NOTE- Failure to appreciate learning happens when a students self worth becomes dependent upon that students ability to achieve competitively in a reward scarce environment.

o Personally, I can’t stand classrooms that put a high emphasis on competition. I understand that some people do really well and are very motivated by competition and doing better than other people, but it can have severe effects on other students. People can also act negatively in a competitive environment which doesn’t necessarily help build a healthy learning community. Also for the students that need success in order to emotionally be stable they might stop trying all together so that they don’t have to worry about the possibility of humiliation.

Ø Overall, the article talks about many different types of learning theories and the pros and cons to each of those. In the end though, it is all about getting students to appreciate what they are learning. This can happen with intrinsic motivation, we know this. It can also (in theory) be accomplished through using extrinsic rewards that do not lead to self-aggrandizing motives, but rewards that encourage them to eventually develop an intrinsic motivation.