Motivational Patterns

Self-Determination theory expands traditional understandings of extrinsic versus intrinsic motivation. Through the scope of SDT, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation can be considered a spectrum, rather than a binary. This spectrum implies that the more a student is motivated by reward/punishment, the more the student will be extrinsically motivated. Purely extrinsically motivated students will merely acquire information superficially (at best) because they have an extremely low sense of autonomy, competence, and/or relatedness. Conversely, students who are motivated intrinsically through personal interest and satisfaction are the most likely to learn in higher quantities and quality. SDT accounts for the idealistic nature of solely relying upon intrinsic motivation in school settings; not every piece of material can be completely enjoyable and satisfying for every single learner. That being said, SDT illustrates ways in which learners can be extrinsically motivated in more meaningful ways. For example, the Integration facet of extrinsic motivation describes a state in which learners are internally motivated via external factors. i.e. People who are motivated by internal goals learn more meaningfully than people who are motivated by a fear of punishment or anticipation of a superficial reward.

Examples within the motivational spectrum:

• Amotivation: A person is genuinely not motivated and is generally not working.
• External regulation: At this point, a person/learner is motivated exclusively by external factors. i.e. Candy, money, a grade, an aversion to strict punishment, etc.
• Introjection: This is the point in which a person begins to add a sense of self into their source of motivation. This is still external because their driving force is not an inherent will to perform, but rather a fear of failure. i.e. A student may be motivated to put work into a class art project, not necessarily because he want to do the project, but rather because he wants to avoid appearing incompetent.
• Identification: Here, a person enters a state in which they do see value in a task or activity. Perhaps there is a perception of longevity within this facet of motivation. For example, a swimmer may not particularly want to practice for four hours everyday; however, she may have set personal goals in which she can autonomously see the value in practicing for four hours. This is still an example of extrinsic motivation because this person is not quite drive by inherent interest/drive, but the motivation is still somewhat internal.
• Integration: In this aspect of motivation, a person begins melding their goals with their personal interest. A person in this stage of motivation will completely internally justify completion of their task at hand. i.e. A history student who experiences this stage of motivation will put all of her effort into reading a historical text because she knows that she completely enjoys history and the satisfaction of knowledge. This is a mixture of personal interest and a desire to reach a goal; in this case, the goal is to gain more historical insight.
• Intrinsic Motivation: Finally, there is pure intrinsic motivation. This is simply a pure, untainted desire to do something. i.e. A person who enjoys video games does not have to be told to play video games, nor does that person have to consciously set goals to play video games. This person will play video games entirely by their own volition, without any chance of extrinsic reward or fear of punishment.