MOTIVATION Jithin Mathew P.

Motivation
Motivation is the driving force by which humans achieve their goals.
Motivation is said to be intrinsic or extrinsic. The term is generally
used for humans but it can also be used to describe the causes for
animal behavior as well. This article refers to human motivation.
According to various theories, motivation may be rooted in a basic
need to minimize physical pain and maximize pleasure, or it may
include specific needs such as eating and resting, or a desired
object, goal, state of being, ideal, or it may be attributed to
less-apparent reasons such as altruism, selfishness, morality, or
avoiding mortality. Conceptually, motivation should not be confused
with either volition or optimism. Motivation is related to, but
distinct from, emotion.
Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
Intrinsic motivation refers to motivation that is driven by an
interest or enjoyment in the task itself, and exists within the
individual rather than relying on any external pressure. Intrinsic
motivation has been studied by social and educational psychologists
since the early 1970s. Research has found that it is usually
associated with high educational achievement and enjoyment by
students.
Extrinsic motivation comes from outside of the individual. Common
extrinsic motivations are rewards like money and grades, coercion and
threat of punishment. Competition is in general extrinsic because it
encourages the performer to win and beat others, not to enjoy the
intrinsic rewards of the activity. A crowd cheering on the individual
and trophies are also extrinsic incentives.
Social psychological research has indicated that extrinsic rewards can
lead to over justification and a subsequent reduction in intrinsic
motivation. In one study demonstrating this effect, children who
expected to be rewarded with a ribbon and a gold star for drawing
pictures spent less time playing with the drawing materials in
subsequent observations than children who were assigned to an
unexpected reward condition and to children who received no extrinsic
reward.