Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation Essay

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The Psychology of Motivation

Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Facilitating optimal motivation and psychological well-being across life's domains Canadian Psychology, 49(1), 14-23.

This article examines the appositeness of Self Determination Theory (STD) in optimizing motivation and psychological health for people. The predominant notion explored within this work is that of STD, which is significant for propounding two alternative theories of motivation. The first is that people are motivated by what is known as “autonomous” (Deci and Ryan, 2008, p. 14) motivation, which entails an active choice on the part of the subject. There are positive connotations associated with this type of motivation. The second is called “controlled” (Deci and Ryan, 2008, p. 14) motivation and correlates to feelings of pressure or compulsion to do something which does not necessarily reflect the volition of the individual. This theory is examined within the context of more traditional theories, one of the most popular of which is the notion of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. This concept claims that there are some acts which are pleasing of themselves—which are intrinsic motivators—, whereas others are pleasing because of their consequences (extrinsic motivators).

Graham, S., & Weiner, B. (2012). Motivation: Past, present, and future. In K.R. Harris, S. Graham, & T. Urdan (Eds.), APA educational psychology handbook: Volume 1. Theories, constructs, and critical issues (pp. 367-397). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. doi: 10.1037/13273-013.

The capital boon of this article is its comprehensive nature. It provides a fairly exhaustive overview of the study of the psychology of motivation. That overview spans from some of the earliest theorists (such as Maslow and his hierarchy of needs) (Graham and Weiner, 2012, p. 368) to contemporary 21st century theorists. Thus, it presents the natural evolution of the psychology of this particular field from its inception to its future. What is perhaps most salient about this work is that it illustrates how initially, the psychology of motivation was based on drive or need. Eventually, those needs became codified into various stratifications to include more sophisticated conceptualizations of motivation as related to self determination theory. Today, and tomorrow, the increasing trend towards specialization is perhaps the most dominant aspect of the psychology of motivation. Examples include involving factors such as race and ethnicity into motivation (Graham and Weiner, 2012, p. 390) and points of distinction in motivation related to individuals.

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Mischel, W., & Shoda, Y. (1995). A cognitive-affective system theory of personality: Reconceptualizing situations, dispositions, dynamics, and invariance in personality structure. Psychological Review, 102(2), 246-268.

This article is of immense interest because it offers an alternate theory on the construct of personality which effectively broadens the very definition of this term. It is predicated on the reality that those of certain established personality types react differently—despite any invariance in their personality—to different situations. However, this theory accounts for those variations and indicates that they may simply expand upon the very notion of personality as it exists. The key tenet contained in this article is that personality is less an immutable construct and is instead merely a pivotal mediator for understanding and processing social information, which inevitably explicates points of variation in behavior and circumstances. This article expresses the idea that variation is a part of personality and behavioral understanding. It cites a number of research studies to buttress this contention. Such variation is attributed to different sociological factors in one’s environment. That such variation can be included within a singular personality construct was fairly novel at the time of writing.

Moore, J. (2013). Tutorial: Cognitive psychology as a radical behaviorist views it. The Psychological Record, 63(3), 667-680.

This article deconstructs the notion of cognitive psychology. It predominantly does so by contrasting it with behaviorism. One of the most critical factors in this deconstruction and contrast between these two psychological forms is that cognitive psychology is frequently an “antecedent” (Moore, 2013, p. 667) for expressions of behavior. In this regard, cognitive psychology is distinct from behaviorism in that it is a neurological precursor to the latter. Of note is that several aspects of behavior are attributed to cognitive psychology. Cognitive psychology largely functions as the non-behavioral impetus or catalyst for behavior. In contrasting cognitive psychology with behaviorism the author cites a bevy of authors and noted psychologists who specialized in one aspect of these theories or the other. The overarching merit of this article is that the author is able to identify several points of confluence between cognitive psychology and behaviorism. Some of that confluence is causal in nature; other aspects of it is less so and much more complicated in origin and manifestation.

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autonomous motivation and controlled motivation. Self-determination theory also takes into account the importance of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. The basic motivational goals people have include competency, relatedness, and autonomy (Deci & Ryan, 2008). Deci & Ryan (2008) also claim there are two main categories of individual difference regarding motivation: causality orientation and goals. By showing people what motivates them and why, therapists can help individuals create the cognitive and behavioral contingencies that lead to self-fulfillment. Self-determination theory is also solution-focused and positive, encouraging the person to remain mindful and to cultivate self-awareness. One area that self-determination theory can be used is with regards to… Continue Reading...

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