Motivation is the driving force behind human behavior and is defined by both internal and external elements that activate, guide, and maintain us in achieving our goals. Incentive is a process in psychology that commences, directs, and sustains goal-oriented behaviours, and thus it responds to the question of why we do what we do.
Knowledge of motivation goes way beyond mere will or want. There are many kinds of motivation with unique mechanisms of action and unique outcomes in the variables of performance and satisfaction as well and well-being. All these forms of motivation affect us when facing tasks and resolving them, when facing challenges and overcoming them, and when reaching our targets. Ranging down to the enjoyment we feel engaging in activities that suit our desires and up to the external incentives that fuel the performance of professionals, Incentive can be a very complicated and tangled thing that defines every experience of humans.
What are the types of Motivation?
In asking the question, How many types of motivation are there in total? Psychologists have been able to define six significant classifications that comprise an overall working system of what drives the human race as a whole and causes them to behave in a specific way. These types are on the scale of how the more self-determined the Incentive form is to the externally controlled one.
6 Major Types of Motivation:
- Intrinsic Motivation: This is the purest form of self-determined motive in which people are carried away in activities just by the virtue of satisfaction and pleasure. This reward is also an inherent part of the activity itself, making a self-renewing and satisfying source of motivation.
- Extrinsic Motivation: This is the taking of actions to get an external reward or to prevent punishment. The drive is external to the person and the action, and is outcome-oriented, as opposed to process-driven.
- Introjected Motivation: This is a case when external expectations are taken internally, but not without the connection to self-value and ego. People would commit actions to prevent feelings of guilt or shame in their lives, or to protect self-esteem, without any sense of personal interest
- Determined Motivation: It is a more self-determined type; people see the sense and significance of an activity, even though it does not seem pleasant to them. The actions conform to self-objectives and beliefs.
- Integrated Motivation: This constitutes the most independent type of extrinsic motivation, with the behaviors wholly loaded on the self and personal identity. It is an activity that needs to be integrated into a personality, rather than a mere occupation of an individual.
- Amotivation: This is the lack of motivation where individuals lack the urge to be involved or active and can be helpless or disassociated with the actions and results of that action.
Examples of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivations (Examples)
Psychological Definitions
Intrinsic Motivation is behavior and personal satisfaction generated by internal rewards. Self-Determination Theory presents that three fundamental psychological needs are fulfilled through intrinsically motivated behaviors: autonomy (an experience of being volitional), competence (i.e., a sense of mastery), and relatedness (i.e., a sense of relatedness to others).
Extrinsic Motivation is the form of behavior determined by what follows next after the act, or in other words, the outcomes of adequate behavior, such as rewards, punishment, deadlines, or even social pressures. Although extrinsic motivation is considered to be rather undesired in comparison to intrinsic motivation, it can be very effective and essential in numerous situations.
Real-World Examples
Workplace Examples:
- Intrinsic: A software developer who writes his/her projects during weekends as he/she like solving problems and being able to create new programs
- Extrinsic: An employee putting in overtime to acquire a bonus or a promotion
Student Examples:
- Intrinsic: A student who has vivid interests in history, who reads a lot about the topic since he/she is fascinated by it, or he/she likes learning about the ancient civilizations
- Extrinsic: The student preparing for an exam mainly to get a good mark, or not to disappoint his parents
Examples of Personal Life:
- Reward: When a person plays a musical instrument as a source of personal entertainment and free expression
- Extrinsic: Working out with the sole aim of losing weight or getting a good physique
Motivation in Action
Types of Motivation in the Workplace
- Performance-based Motivation – motivation is based upon targets, quotas, and measurable outcomes. This can be effective for day-to-day tasks, but can kill creativity and distinct purpose/intrinsic interest.
- Purpose-based Motivation – people see meaning in the work they do, and understand how their contributions are making an impact, both within an organization and at a societal level.
- Autonomy-supportive Motivation – giving people the choice to engage as a flexible decision maker in their work can result in increased intrinsic motivation and more satisfaction with their work experience.
- Social Motivation – for many, collaboration, peer recognition, and work relationships serve as significant motivation.
Types of Motivation for Students
- Achievement Motivation – the need to perform academically and be better than others – is often measured by grades, ranking, and academically based recognition.
- Mastery Motivation – the need to deeply understand the concepts being studied and to become an expert, regardless of external rewards or needing to outperform other people.
- Social Motivation – the need to please teachers, parents, or peers, or to fit in with what their academic peer group is doing.
- Future orientation Motivation – understanding how learning is a precursor to what their future goals may be, and to explore possibilities.
Types of Motivation for Employees
- Compensation and Benefits – salary, bonuses, health care, etc. Types of compensation that are tangible to meet needs and provide security.
- Career Progression: Options for advancement, development, and professional learning in ways that also meet their individually defined goals.
- Recognition and gratitude: Recognition for your contributions in the form of an award, praise, or public recognition.
- Work-life balance: Accessibility, flexibility to work remotely, and respect for personal time that promotes overall well-being.
Motivation to develop personally
- Growth-based motivation: The belief that, with effort and learning, we can develop our abilities and persist, embrace challenges, and work through adversity.
- Values-based motivation: Taking action based on, and aligning with, our core personal values and beliefs, inspiring authentic and sustainable motivation.
- Identity-based motivation: Action and commitment towards goals and desired behaviours reinforce or develop our intended self-identity or personal narrative.
- Curiosity-driven motivation: The genuine desire to learn, discover, and understand, all of which are effective forms of intrinsic motivation, often promoting lifelong personal learning.
Influence of Motivation Types on Performance
Findings on production
Many studies provide substantial evidence that the type of incentives will change the result. In different studies, researchers Deci and Ryan researched intrinsic vs. extrinsic incentives and have consistently found that intrinsic incentives lead to greater engagement, persistence, and creative problem-solving than pure extrinsic motivation.
A key study completed by Teresa Amabile found that intrinsic incentives enable one to produce more creative work and also innately provide a more innovative search for solutions compared to extrinsic motivation. She also found that performance could improve with the use of extrinsic motivators such as deadlines for routine work (steady use of algorithms) and work requiring consistent attention and repetition.
Influence on creativity
Most studies show that intrinsic incentives are strongly correlated with creative performance. If an individual is genuinely interested in their work and has discretion in how they complete that work, then they can take risks, challenge ideas and assumptions, and look for solutions beyond the “box”. The larger the reliance on other-directed external rewards and consequences, the less increased creativity is likely because of a natural focus and less experimentation, taking away from the initial interest and autonomy.
Impact on Job Satisfaction
Self-determined forms of incentives (intrinsic, integrated, and identified) tend to lead to high levels of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and low rates of turnover. Employees who feel autonomy, competence, and relatedness while doing their job experience higher levels of well-being and are often more willing to commit discretionary effort that is focused on the organization’s best interests.
Research from Gallup continues to show that engaged employees, or those who are intrinsically motivated, are far more productive, profitable, and able to retain talent better than those who are not engaged. Engaged work also tends to lead to better customer service and safety performance, as well.
Sustainability in Long-Term Performance
Even though extrinsic motivators can bring short-term results, intrinsic incentives are likely to be more sustainable over the long term. Since people tend to adapt to external rewards, they may become less motivating over time, while intrinsic incentives, being self-reinforcing, can be enhanced by additional engagement.
Conclusion
The variety of incentive types allows us to see more clearly into human behavior and performance everywhere, not only in the workplace and academic settings, but in personal relationships and personal development, etc. More insight into these different motivation types means we can build environments and approaches that lead to more engagement, greater satisfaction, and ultimately, more accomplishment.
By far, the strongest takeaway from decades of psychological research is that the highest quality performance and ongoing sustained motivation occur when we can integrate our external requirements with our internal values and interests. The extrinsic motivators have an important role in shaping behavior and minimizing waits, but essentially, building intrinsic motivation/self-determined engagement options leads to better well-being and long-term success.
Take Action: Notice your motivation patterns across different contexts, considering your personal goal in each. How can you restructure the tasks, goals, or environments to enhance your intrinsic motivation, but uphold your external accountability? Whether you are a manager trying to motivate employees, a student trying to learn better, or someone interested in personal development, knowing these different types of motivation can change how you approach whatever point you’re working towards.
