Posted: November 4th, 2022

Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation in Education

Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation in Education As life goes on, I am starting to learn more and more about what motivates me step forward and can be successful in education; I recognize that when I plan or want to do something, I have a motivation for that specific thing. In other words, when I do something, I have a reason why I should do that thing. According to the book “Drive” by Daniel H. Pink, it makes me thought-provoking about motivation 2. 0 and motivation 3. 0. So the question comes in my mind is what is the difference between motivation 2. 0 and motivation 3. , and which motivational system is more effective either for education. Motivation 2. 0, what we know as extrinsic motivation assumes that human beings are best motivated by rewards and punishments (carrots and sticks). On the other hand, motivation 3. 0 what we know as intrinsic motivation suggests that humans are primarily motivated to learn, create and better the world (learning and creating). In education, I prefer that motivation 3. 0 is more effective than motivation 2. 0 because motivation 3. 0 leads to success and good behavior and motivation 2. leads to decreasing of students’ progress. The first thing, motivation 3. 0 is more effective than motivation 2. 0 because motivation 3. 0 leads to success. Students are most likely to show the beneficial effects of motivation when they are intrinsically motivated to engage in classroom activities. Intrinsically motivated students tackle assigned tasks willingly and are eager to learn classroom material, more likely to process information in effective ways by engaging in meaningful learning, and more likely to achieve at high levels.
In contrast, extrinsically motivated students may have to be enticed or prodded, may process information only superficially, and are often interested in performing only easy tasks and meeting minimal classroom requirements. To understand how these two motivations work, I want to give out a specific example. I have two friends, Sang and Anne. The first person, Sang he does not enjoy accounting and is taking the class just because earning an A or B in the class will help him earn a scholarship at Business Department.
The second person, Anne she has always liked accounting. The class will help her earn a scholarship, but in addiction, Anne really wants to become a good accountant. She sees its usefulness for her future profession as an accountant. Through this example, we can see the first person exhibits motivation 2. 0. Students who belong to motivation 2. 0 may want the good grades, money, or recognition that particular activities and accomplishments bring. In contrast, the second person exhibits motivation 3. 0. Students who belong to motivation 3. may engage in an activity because it gives them pleasure, helps them develop a skill they think is important, or seems to be the ethically and morally right thing to do. According to the book “Drive”, in chapter 3 Pink describes “They’re working hard and persisting through difficulties because of their internal desire to control their lives, learn about their world, and accomplish something that endures” (77). In some cases, motivation 2. 0 can get students on the road to successful classroom learning and productive behavior. Yet motivation 3. 0 leads students over the long run.

It will encourage them to make sense of and apply what they are studying and will increase the odds that they will continue to learn. Moreover, motivation 3. 0 is more effective than motivation 2. 0 because motivation 3. 0 leads student to good behavior. When student comes to motivation 3. 0, this basically means that student is motivated to do a particular task of the pleasure or satisfaction that they get in performing the task itself. In other words, intrinsically motivated student comes from within an individual rather than from extrinsic rewards such as money, grades, or class rank.
A student who tends to be intrinsically motivated could be motivated by internal factors such as recognition, responsibility, growth and advancement. If a student is to be motivated by intrinsic rewards, then this means that what the student really wants is a job that interests him, a challenging work environment, and the responsibility to perform the task in order to motivate him. For example, an intrinsically motivated student will perform a task given to him willingly, either because he might find the task challenging or else interesting and satisfied with completing it.
This is due to the fact the external rewards hardly motivate these students. In chapter 3 of the book, Pink points out about type I behavior “Type I behavior is self-directed. It is devoted to becoming better and better at something that matters. And it connects that quest for excellence to a larger purpose” (78-79). This explains that motivation 3. 0 leads student to good behavior and tends to be very much effective in the long run as the students perform the tasks willingly because it interests them, rather than trying to escape from it once the task is done. Furthermore, motivation 3. increases effort and persistence in activities and affects cognitive processes. As we discovered in chapter 4 about autonomy, Pink explains “According to a cluster of recent behavioral science studies, autonomous motivation promotes greater conceptual understanding, better grades, enhanced persistence at school and in sporting activities, higher productivity, less burnout, and greater levels of psychological well-being” (88-89). Motivation 3. 0 increases the amount of effort and energy that students expend in activities directly related to their needs and goals.
Intrinsically motivated students are more likely to continue a task until they’ve completed it, even if they are occasionally interrupted or frustrated in the process. In general, motivation 3. 0 increases students’ time on task, an important factor affecting their learning and achievement. Besides that, motivation 3. 0 affects what and how students mentally process information. For one thing, intrinsically motivated students are more likely to pay attention because they are sitting in class, doing the task for the long run purpose and larger achievement. So attention is critical for getting information into working memory.
Intrinsically motivated students also try to understand and elaborate on material to learn it meaningfully rather than simply go through the motions of learning in a superficial, rote manner. One special thing is intrinsically students have higher self-esteem. Through the description type I behavior promotes greater physical and mental well-being in chapter 3, Pink states “According to a raft of studies from SDT researchers, people oriented toward autonomy and intrinsic motivation have higher self-esteem, better interpersonal relationships, and greater general well-being than those who are extrinsically motivated” (78). Thereby circumventing the intrinsic barrier.
This can understand that the more students are motivated to achieve academic success, the more proud they will be of an A and the more upset they will be by an F or perhaps even a B. The more students want to be accepted and respected by their peers, the more meaningful the approval of the “in-group” will be and the more painful the ridicule of classmates will seem. As a last result, motivation 3. 0 is more effective than motivation 2. 0 because motivation 2. 0 leads to decreasing of students’ progress. Motivation 2. 0 what stands for extrinsic motivation comes when the students are thus motivated by means of external rewards.
External rewards basically consist of money and grades. Motivation 2. 0 leads students are involved in performing a particular task is because of the external rewards that gives them satisfaction and pleasure, and not because they are interested in it. In other means, motivation 2. 0 drives students to do things especially for tangible rewards or pressure, rather than for the desire of it. Extrinsic motivators basically focus the students on rewards rather than actions. For example, students will perform tasks though they are not quite interested in it, thus because of the rewards involved with it.
Some students will not want to do the work willingly, but rather they are motivated to do so by external rewards. According to Drive, in chapter 3 Pink argues “When people use rewards to motivate, that’s when they’re most demotivating” (70). When students are not interesting in doing tasks and learning and they are just focus on the rewards that they can receive, instead of trying to improve skills and get stronger performance that may affect on their long lives, this explains why motivation 2. 0 leads to decreasing of students’ progress. Therefore, if we can apply motivation 3. to students, we can reduce the emphasis on external rewards such as grades, class rank, and “pay for performance” (giving student money for good grades) and instead try to design tasks that allow students choice, challenge and purpose. Most students will be happy to work on their tasks in which they can determine things such as the product they will produce, or with whom they will work, especially if the task requires creative and critical thought, and if they see a real-life application to what they are doing. However, we need to recognize that most schools are still operating on motivation 2. . That is a problem between how we prepare students for work and how work actually operates. Moreover, the basic problem with Motivation 2. 0 is “if-then” rewards. In the summary of chapter 2, Pink explains why “if-then” reward is not good that “Traditional “if-then” rewards can give us less of what we want: They can extinguish intrinsic motivation, diminish performance, crush creativity, and crowd out good behavior” (220). Actually, “if-then” rewards often give less of what we are hoping to achieve and generally crush the stuff we want, like high performance, creativity, and good behavior.
Anyway, motivation 2. 0 with external rewards is one of causes leads to decreasing of students’ progress because it motivates student only short term. This is because the extrinsically motivated students will do their task only as long as they receive their rewards and thereafter will stop performing the tasks, once the rewards are no longer there. Through the book “Drive” by Daniel H. Pink, I have a look at both motivation 2. 0 and motivation 3. 0; I could say that motivation 3. 0 is far stronger than motivation 2. 0 when it comes to motivate students in the long run.
For me, I consider I need to apply the three elements of Motivation 3. 0 according to Pink to move forward in education. First, I need to gain autonomy which is my desire to be self-directed. Second, mastery in which is my desire to get better and better at something that matters. And third, purpose in which is my desire to be part of something larger than myself. Even though the system right now makes this very difficult to do, but I will not ignore standards, I believe I can and will find ways to engage myself in self-directed and meaningful work.

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