Types of motivation: the 8 motivational sources

The motivation can be defined as the process that initiates, guides, and maintains behaviors aimed at achieving a goal or meeting a need.

It is the force that makes us act and allows us to keep going even in difficult situations. Go get a glass of water when you're thirsty, study all night to pass the Drive that much you want or train hard to be the best in a championship, are possible thanks to is.

However, just as the challenges and projects that we propose are very varied, the types of motivation from which our forces are born to achieve our objectives are also varied. That is precisely what I am going to talk about in this article: the types of motivation.

• A theory that analyzes human needs: "The Pyramid of Maslow"

Psychology's interest in motivation

Many psychologists have been interested in the study of motivation, since it is a basic principle in the behavior of human beings: nobody moves without one without motivation, without a reason for it. Being motivated means carrying out daily tasks without being a heavy burden and keeping us alive. But not only that, motivation is related to other psychological variables, such as stress level,

the self-esteem, concentration, etc., and, as many studies have indicated, it has an effect on the health and well-being of all of us.

For this reason, there are many theories that speak of human motivation, including the aforementioned Maslow's pyramid, the McClelland's three factors wave Herzberg dual factor theory. When studying motivation, different approaches have been developed that are applicable to different areas: job, sport, learning, etc. This has caused several authors to have classified motivation under different names.

Types of motivation

The degree of motivation of each individual is not directly proportional to the value of what causes it, but rather it is the importance given by the person who receives it that determines the strength or the level of motivation.

Below we will explain the different types of motivation, as well as the different sources of motivation that drive us to perform certain acts.

Extrinsic motivation vs intrinsic motivation

This way of classifying the types of motivation is one of the most used, and it is based on the location of what motivates: is it incentives belonging to the context, or incentives self-administered?

1. Extrinsic motivation

The extrinsic motivation refers to the fact that motivational stimuli come from outside the individual and from outside the activity. Therefore, motivating factors are external rewards such as money or recognition from others. Extrinsic motivation is not based on the satisfaction of carrying out the chain of actions that makes up what we are doing, but in a reward that is only related to this in an indirect way, as if it were a by-product.

For example: an individual may work hard to earn more money or he may study very hard because of the social recognition that a good job provides him once he has finished his studies. A person with extrinsic motivation for a task that must be delivered, will work hard at it despite having little interest, since the anticipation of the external reinforcer will motivate him to finish it on time.

2. Intrinsic motivation

The intrinsic motivation it refers to the motivation that comes from within the individual rather than from any external reward. It is associated with the wishes of self-realization and personal growth, and is related to the pleasure that the person feels when carrying out an activity, which allows a person to be in "Flow status”When performing the same.

For example: an individual who attends his soccer team's training simply for the pleasure of playing his favorite sport.

Intrinsic motivation is the type of motivation most linked to a good productivity, since where the individual occurs, he does not limit himself to meeting the minimum necessary to obtain the reward, but becomes personally involved in what he does and decides to put much of his endeavor.

Positive motivation vs negative motivation

This distinction is based on the emotional charge associated with motivation.

3. Positive motivation

The positive motivation It refers to the process by which an individual initiates or maintains adherence to a behavior thanks to obtaining a positive reward, be it external or internal (for the pleasure of the activity).

4. Negative motivation

The negative motivation refers to the process by which a person initiates or remains attached to a conduct to avoid a unpleasant consequence, both external (punishment, humiliation, etc.) or internal (avoiding the feeling of frustration or failure).

Other ways to classify varieties of motivation

The literature specialized in sport psychology has also provided information on other types of motivation related to the world of physical activity and sport.

Basic motivation vs everyday motivation

This classification of types of motivation is established paying particular attention to the frequency and intensity of what leads to action.

5. Basic motivation

The basic motivation It refers to the stable base of motivation that determines the level of commitment of an athlete with her activity. It refers to an athlete's interest in sports results, her personal performance and / or the positive consequences of both.

6. Everyday motivation

The everyday motivation refers to an athlete's interest in daily activity and the immediate gratification that it produces.

Ego-centered motivational guidance vs task-centered motivational guidance

In relation to way in which motivation interacts more or less with self-esteem and self-concept, we can distinguish between these two concepts. Both orientations are orthogonal and not opposite. Therefore, there may be athletes with both high orientations, both low orientations, with a ego-centered high but low on task and with a high task orientation but low ego.

7. Ego-centered motivational guidance

This type of motivation refers to the motivation of athletes depends on challenges and results compared to others athletes.

8. Task-focused motivational guidance

Motivation depends on personal challenges and results, and subjective impressions of mastery and progress. That is to say, what motivates is to surpass oneself, improve personal brands.

Let's move on to practice: how to motivate yourself?

We invite you to know a series of strategies and keys to keep your motivation at high levels.

• You can check the article: "The 10 keys to motivating yourself"

Bibliographic references:

• Benjamin Lowry, Paul; Gaskin, James; Twyman, Nathan W.; Hammer, Bryan; Roberts, Tom L. (2013). Taking 'fun and games' seriously: Proposing the hedonic-motivation system adoption model (HMSAM). Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 14 (11): pp. 617 - 671.
• Berridge, Kent C; Kringelbach, Morten L (2013). Neuroscience of affect: brain mechanisms of pleasure and displeasure ". Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 23 (3): pp. 294 - 303.
• Marinak, Barbara A.; Gambrell, Linda B. (2008). Intrinsic Motivation and Rewards: What Sustains Young Children's Engagement with Text?. Literacy Research and Instruction. 47: pp. 9 - 26.
• O'Neill, Jr., H.F.; Drillings, M. (1994). Motivation: Theory and Research. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
• Uysal, Muzaffer (1994). Testing the push and pull factors. Annals of Tourism Research, 21 (4): pp. 844 - 846.