As always in life, interplay is the golden way – in between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

What is motivating me to get out of bed, to get myself into a specific shape, to meet with friends, to go to work and to develop? There is an evergreen battle on the motivation field still going on. Arguments are being made for the domination of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.

As a coach and psychologist i stand like a rock by the idea of intrinsic motivation (as it implies, that it is me, who is or is not motivated to do something).

At the same time, as a psychologist, i am fully aware and do commit to the concept of extrinsic motivation (as it implies e.g. from a behavioral standpoint, that positive behavior can be strenghened by awarding it.)

First let’s take a look at what internal and external motivation actually is?

Intrinsic motivation means, that somebody is performing actions due to an inseparable internal character of satisfaction, and not some possible separate consequences, which might or might not occur. The motivation for action has is locus within the motivated individual and the action itself is the primary reason for conducting it.

A few examples of intrinsic motivation:

I love playing soccer. As a child I dreamt of becoming a soccer player. Today, as soon as i see a human or a dog playing around with a ball large enough to be played with your foot, i’m instantly willing to join. Why? Because i just love it!

Not the same effect, but still intrinsic motivation: When having the possibility to improve myself in areas, which are important to me, i am not hesitating. For example, writing this article, means improving my blog, means learning new things, means having new thoughts. The task itself has high value.

Even just spending time with my family is a no brainer for me. Why? Because the time spent with family has very high value in my own value structure. Even if we were lazy, the time spent is still valuable.

Extrinsiv motivation means, that somebody is performing activities due to the disconnected external nature of satisfaction. The motivation for action is placed outside the motivated individual and the action will not be conducted until some external incentive is introduced (until rewards are provided).

A few examples of extrinsic motivation

I love playing soccer, as you already know. Sometimes i play soccer and do street style tricks, when i see people around. Why? Because i do aim at being awarded as the best 35 year old non-professional soccer player they know.

After having written an article on my blog, which i did not need any extrinsic motivation to do, i willingly use the extrinsic elements of it. Probably people will read the article, probably some people will like it, probably it will help my blog the get buzz and monetize on it. Well, getting money based on things i like doing, is kind of one of the purest forms of extrinsic motivation.

What about spending time with my family? Well, we are 4 grandchildren from my granny’s perspective. I am spending most of my time in my hometown with my granny, because i don’t live there on a daily basis any more. My granny is then convinced, that i am the best of all 4 grandchildren and praises me in front of my whole family. This kind of approval is extrinsic motivation, too.

What if i was motivated only if i’ve received something in return? Well this would mean, that extrinsic motivation has had a bad influence on me. It would mean, that i was not able to move, if there was no external force, which was moving me.

On the other hand, what if i was only motivated, if the task itself was holy to me? Well, this would mean, that intrinsic motivation has had a bad influence on me, too. It would mean, that i was not able to move for other people or other people’s benefit, if the task was not holy to myself.

What if introducing external incentives would lead to a lower motivation to move in general and over time? As an extreme example, it would mean, that giving bonuses or salary raises to employees, might decrease their job performance, though they have had high motivation for performance beforehand.

There is a theory, which describes under which circumstances extrinsic motivation might impact intrinsic motivation in a negative way. Based on the theory, there is a wrong assumption out there, that rewarding has negative impact on intrinsic motivation.

The theory postulates, that intrinsic motivation is naturally given. The naturally given intrinsic motivation needs benefiting external circumstances to thrive. This means, that external circumstances, eg. rewards might have bad influence, too.

The theory assumes, that external circumstances, eg. rewards have a negative effect on intrinsic motivation in situations with a controlling aspect. Controlling means, that you have to conduct a task in a very specific way, in order to get the reward.

External circumstances, eg. rewards have a positive effect on intrinsic motivation in situations with an informative aspect. Informative means, that the provided reward will have educational impact on you. At the end, the question is whether we should be careful with rewards?

In order to get an overview of the evidence the best way is to have a look at scientific meta analysis’. Meta Analysis’ are a collection of multiple single scientific studies, while the collection is analyzed statistically as a whole.

3.1.1. General information

The meta analysis was conducted by Uco Jillert Wiersma in 1992. It combined 20 single scientific studies and was based upon the assumptions of the cognitive evaluation theory.

3.1.2. Rewards have positive or negative impact on intrinsic motivation

The study has found, that rewards have negative impact on intrinsic motivation, when provided conditionally. Conditionally means, that a reward is provided under the exact same circumstances. The study has found, that rewards do not have negative impact, when provided unconditionally. Unconditionally means, that rewards were provided under random circumstances.  More important, extrinsic motivation when active, does not impact performance in a negative way. To be more precise, intrinsic motivation and extrinsic rewards have an additive influence on performance.

3.2.1. General information

The meta analysis was conducted by Cerasoli, Nicklin and Ford in 2014. 154 scientific studies have been choosen for the meta analysis. In sum, 212.468 individuals were part of the meta analysis.

3.2.2. Extrinsic motivation helps intrinsic motivation in performance

The study has found 4 very important points.

First a basic assumption was confirmed. Intrinsic motivation does impact performance.

Second, intrinsic motivation is stronger in qualitative tasks, compared to quantitive tasks. What does it mean? When conducting complex tasks, which have to be thought through, intrinsic motivation is powerful compared to tasks, in which complexity is low and the task has to be conducted multiple times in order to have a solution.

The third finding is the most important one: The impact of intrinsic motivation on performance does increase, when extrinsic rewards are introduced in between.

The fourth finding concludes, that extrinsic rewards have higher impact on quantitative task. Intrinsic motivation on the other hand has higher impact on qualitative tasks.

Both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation can impact overall motivation and therefore increase performance. But introducing extrinsic rewards should be adapted to many aspects, such as:

* The setup of a group/team in a work environment: What are other motivational structures

* The specificity of the task: quantitative/repetetive Vs. qualitative

* Time & place of the extrinsic motivation: conditioned Vs. unconditioned display of extrinsic rewards

* Other external circumstances

As it is crucial to combine intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, the question is how to introduce extrinsic motivational structures. The following points should provide a first brief concept on how to get things rolling:

* Evaluate tasks in place: e.g. per department

* Identify internal motivators of team members: dependent on tasks – by discussing it with the team

* Identify potential moments: when? how often? in which intervalls? under which conditions and characteristics (which rewards?) of extrinsic rewarding

* Identify potential platforms for displaying extrinsic rewards: Individual or Group? By supervisor, colleagues or the group?

* Align extrinsic rewards and motivators with intrinsic motivation already in place: in order to fully develop a combined effect