Motivation
Motivation is the experience of desire or aversion. You want something, or want to avoid or escape something. As such, motivation has both an objective side a goal or thing you aspire to and an internal or subjective aspect: it is you that wants the thing (or wants it to go away). At minimum, motivation requires the biological substrate for physical sensations of pleasure and pain. Animals can thus want or disdain specific objects based on sense perception and experience. But motivation does not stop there. The capacity to form concepts and to reason allows humans can go beyond this minimum state, with a much greater possible range of desires and aversions. This much greater range is supported by the ability to choose one’s own goals and values, combined with time horizons for value achievement that can encompass years, decades or longer, and the ability to re-experience past events.
Motivation can be seen as those psychological characteristics of humans that contribute to an individual’s level of commitment towards a goal. It comprises several elements that causes, directs, and sustains an individual’s behavior in a specific way. Motivation is one of a number of elements that affect an organization’s productivity and performance levels respectively. In addition even with appropriate strategies and administrative structures in place, an organization can only be productive if its employees are sufficiently motivated to perform at higher levels.
Intrinsic motivation is a behavior that is driven by satisfying internal rewards. For example, an athlete may enjoy playing football for the experience, rather than for an award. It is an interest or enjoyment in the task itself, and exists within the individual rather than relying on external pressures or a desire for consideration.
Students who are intrinsically motivated are more likely to engage in the task willingly as well as work to improve their skills, which will increase their capabilities. Students are likely to be intrinsically motivated if they.
- attribute their educational results to factors under their own control, also known as autonomy or locus of control.
- believe they have the skills to be effective agents in reaching their desired goals, also known as self-efficacy beliefs.
- are interested in mastering a topic, not just in achieving good grades.
- don’t act from pressure, but from interest.
Extrinsic motivation comes from influences outside of the individual. In extrinsic motivation, the harder question to answer is where do people get the motivation to carry out and continue to push with persistence. Usually, extrinsic motivation is used to attain outcomes that a person wouldn’t get from intrinsic motivation. Common extrinsic motivations are rewards (for example money or grades) for showing the desired behaviour, and the threat of punishment following misbehaviour. Competition is an extrinsic motivator because it encourages the performer to win and to beat others, not simply to enjoy the intrinsic rewards of the activity.
