What are the two types of motivation according to psychologists?

0 votes
by (120 points)
What distinguishes intrinsic motivation from extrinsic motivation?

1 Answer

+1 vote
by (470 points)
Intrinsic motivation is defined as having internal drives such as enjoyment, interest or the purpose of what is being done. Extrinsic motivation is the opposite; people are driven by an external force such as receiving money, complying to commands or expectations of others and receiving praise.
by (110 points)
It's really interesting how all of the facts and tips shown in this content can be translated or reframed into the Behavior Analysis perspective.

[WARNING] Nerd talk below:
Under that view, there is no distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation: all motivation comes from external sources but the stimuli that act as reinforcers are unique in every individual, based on their specific learning history. So, focusing on intrinsic motivation and values can be interpreted as an individual engaging in rule-controlled behavior that is under the stimulus control of that particular contingency and that has idiosyncratic stimuli involved as reinforcers, discriminative stimuli or prompts (possibly covert).

On the other hand, extrinsic motivation is also rule-controlled behavior but this time being reinforced by other stimuli that may be less preferred by the individual, such as money (a generalized conditioned reinforcer). Intrinsic motivation is more powerful because it provides higher quality reinforcers, more suited for a specific individual.

Another example would be the "do fun activities instead of boring workouts". That could be rephrased as an establishment operation, i.e. increasing the reinforcing value of a reinforcer: Fun physical activities increase the automatic reinforcement of the behavior itself (exercise) and might even add social reinforcement.

Correct me if I'm wrong, tho. I'm still new to BA.
by (100 points)
isn't every motivation intrinsic? you getting paid means nothing if you didn't have an intrinsic motivation to get the money
Welcome to KnowBeGo Q&A, where you can ask questions and receive answers from other members of the community.
...