Intrinsic motivation: what is it and how to promote it?

When talking about motivation and, specifically, intrinsic motivation, the first thing we consider is: What drives people to act the way they do?, What makes a person persist in achieving a goal (such as passing a competitive exam) despite the pain and effort that this entails? Why are there people capable of persisting in a task and instead others postpone it or start others at the same time without finishing any of them? they?

The study of intrinsic motivation is a topic of Basic Psychology. We know that human beings act for reasons: either to get what they need (food, money, prestige ...), or to avoid what they fear (obstacles, diseases, punishments ...). In this article we are going to try to find out what it is and why it is so important.

Brief historical review of intrinsic motivation

To understand where the psychological construct of intrinsic motivation comes from, it is important to know what they are the origins of this concept linked to the mental processes linked to what motivates us. These date back to times when psychology as a science did not even exist.

Motivation has been the object of presence at all times. Already Plato He spoke of anger, courage, instincts, Aristotle Mentioning goals, Epicurus focused on the pursuit of pleasure and the flight from pain.

From the foundation of scientific psychology we will remember McDougall (1908) who resorted to instincts as an explanation of behavior, to Freud (1910) with unconscious motivation. Although the watson behaviorism and of Skinner They did not deal with this issue since they understood learning as the only motor of action, until neo-behaviorism through Clark hull (1943) saw that learning was not enough to perform a behavior.

It is not until the personal causation theories of the 70s (De Charms) and the theory of self-determination, back in the 80s (Deci and Ryan), that intrinsic motivation begins to be talked about.

What is intrinsic motivation?

Intrinsic motivation originates within the individual, and is driven by the needs of exploration, experimentation, curiosity, and manipulation, which are considered motivational behaviors in themselves themselves. In other words, intrinsic motivation is the type of motivation that is self-administered, and that predisposes the individual to strive towards the achievement of a goal.

Intrinsic motivation, according to Deci, is an underlying need in the individual for social competence and self-determination.. That is, those behaviors that are carried out in the absence of any apparent external contingency are considered intrinsically motivated. Carrying out the activity is an end in itself and its performance allows the subject to feel autonomous and competent, essential for the proper development of healthy self-esteem

We can all give an example of intrinsic motivation in our lives: participate in volunteering, altruistic acts, do our job well, search for more knowledge, self-improvement in the realization of a sport, realization of hobbies ...

Ultimately, the reasons that lead to activate a behavioral pattern are inherent to the person. No external stimuli are needed as in the extrinsic motivation, but they are not mutually exclusive. That is, you can carry out an activity for which you are intrinsically motivated (helping others) but also obtain an external reward (money).

Unlike what is achieved with extrinsic motivation (external rewards), with intrinsic motivation we achieve experiences, feelings of efficacy and mastery of the task. Three related feelings usually appear:

• Self-determination and autonomy: to be the directors of our own life.
• The competition: control what we do, experience mastery of our abilities.
• Relations: interact, stay connected and care about others.
• Satisfaction for doing something of your own and familiar

At first it was thought that both types of motivation were independent, but Deci and Lepper showed that an activity that had a high intrinsic interest could be diminished if rewards were introduced, this fact was called the effect of overjustification. Curiously, the subject was losing interest. The negative effect of the reward is known as the hidden price of the reward.

Which is better, intrinsic or extrinsic motivation?

We must clarify that neither extrinsic or intrinsic motivation are "bad" per se, but it will depend on what present that are in the life of each person, the context of the same and their psychological situation and personal.

Extrinsic motivation is driven from the outside, either by the force of the reward or by the force of the possible punishment (p. eg, that student who starts studying the night before for fear of failing and having to pay a higher rate of academic credits).

In these cases, the subject can see himself doing something that he does not like simply for the reward (Let's think of all those people who do work that is not intrinsically motivated by the reward economic). This type of motivation is available in the entire society, even the educational system is extrinsically motivated. The great handicap of this motivation is that it cannot satisfy the need for self-determination.

Therefore, it is necessary to develop and change from the extrinsic to the intrinsic, which is possible by making the subject achieve levels of autonomy in the task carried out and offering a context or environment that facilitates relationships interpersonal.

A very clear example of this last reflection is to begin to educate children by promoting their autonomy and self-realization through the process itself (the intrinsic) rather than focusing solely on the extrinsic rewards / punishments for them to carry out the chores. This is not so easy: When it comes to carrying out activities and starting them, extrinsic motivation is often necessary to start routines, especially in children. However, once they have started and have been incorporated into the routine of the subject, it would be that they were maintained by intrinsic motivation.

Thanks to Psychology, it is known that when motivation comes from within, it is capable of making us tend to persevere in the task for longer; That is why it is so important to encourage it in processes such as studies, competitive examinations or in high-performance athletes. This is so, among other things, because being intrinsic it does not depend so much on the situations that arise around us, and it helps us to adapt to each situation and each obstacle.

On the other hand, it must be taken into account that there is no "pure" intrinsic motivation, since it is always linked to events that occur around us. That it is more useful to understand it as an element that occurs in the individual, rather than as something that comes from the outside, it does not mean that the individual practice and environment are intimately related.

How is this type of motivation promoted?

We will base ourselves fundamentally on what the theory of self-determination of Deci and Ryan proposes. One of the fundamental objectives in moving from the extrinsic to the intrinsic is to focus on meeting our needs for autonomy and self-determination.

In the workplace, thinking in terms of "I have to", "I should do ..." leads us to feel overwhelmed, pressured, and to feel that we are full of imposed "mandatory" tasks. We feel tied down, and even if we get paid for these activities (which promotes extrinsic motivation), it may not be enough to make us feel good.

It is positive to try to put aside the backpack of "I have and I must" and start thinking about the "I want". When we think about what we want to do we are meeting our needs for autonomy and self-determination. Today at my job: Do I want to feel that I have contributed something positive? Do I want to feel that I have helped someone else? Do I want to be satisfied with the effort I have made? Do I want to learn new things?

Then we can ask ourselves: "to achieve what I want to do, what can I do to achieve it?" When we consider what we can do, we are encouraging the need to feel competent and in control in what we do, and we are putting ourselves in the driver's seat of our life. It is in our power to choose to do our job well, to choose to help another person, to choose to seek more information to learn a little more ...

Obviously, not in all situations we will be able to apply this change of perspective, but it can be useful reflect on why we do things and how we can change those that do not make us feel good and are modifiable.