The Faces of Motivation And Your Personal Success – Part II

In last weeks post (Part I) I gave an overview of The Four Questions of Motivation, the Self-determination theory (“SDT”) and how they can affect your personal success and reaching your personal goals.

Again, so far we’ve been talking about the “why” of motivation — looking for the reasons behind the goal, while ignoring what the goal itself is. We could call the goal itself the “what” of motivation – the “X” that we pursue, for whatever reason.

This week I’m going to go over…

The “What” of Motivation – And Why it Matters

Some people pursue love, others money; some people want a new television, others want to finish the novel they are reading; some people want to take up jogging, others want to quit smoking; some people pursue success, others try to avoid failure.

SDT research in the 1990s began to discuss the “what” question, by distinguishing between two different types of values or goals: “extrinsic” and “intrinsic.”

I used these same terms when talking about motivation in general, but they can also apply to the “what,” to the target goal itself. Extrinsic goals are those that are done for some “external” reason. Extrinsic goals include trying to enhance our physical appearance, trying to gain status or become more well-known, and trying to acquire money and luxuries.

By contrast, intrinsic goals include trying to enhance intimate relationships, trying to serve groups or communities beyond the self, and trying to grow and develop as a person.

Extrinsic personal goals may sound “shallow,” like something you don’t really do — but let’s face it, everybody is susceptible to the lure of luxury, personal success, the pull of power, and the appeal of appearance!

These goals certainly have their place, but it seems they should not predominate within the motivational system, or else the person may experience problems. Research conducted by psychologist Tim Kasser and his colleagues shows that focusing too much on extrinsic goals (relative to intrinsic goals) is negatively associated with well-being, happiness, and adjustment (Kasser, T. (2002). “The high price of materialism”. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.) As the sayings go, “money can’t buy you love,” “beauty is only skin deep,” and “fame ain’t what it’s cracked up to be.”

Studies also show that merely framing tasks in intrinsic versus extrinsic terms has effects on peoples’ performance and mood. For example, in three experiments, Maarten Vansteenkiste (a prominent young Belgian researcher) and his colleagues showed that framing information about recycling, business communication styles, or a fitness activity in intrinsic terms (“this will help the environment, your personal development, your health”) versus extrinsic terms (“this will help you save money, help you get a high-paying job, help you look better”) made a difference.( Vansteenkiste, M., Simons, J., Lens, W., Sheldon, K.M., & Deci, E. (2004).

Motivating processing, performance, and persistence: The synergistic role of intrinsic goal content and autonomy-supportive context. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87, 246-260.)

Participants randomly assigned to do the requested activity with the intrinsic frame had greater learning/understanding, better performance/ achievement, and greater persistence/follow-through, compared to performing the activity with the extrinsic frame — in part because the intrinsic frame produced more internalized motivation for doing the activity.

The implications for motivating others and ourselves was clear – whenever some course of action is being suggested, try to frame it in intrinsic and not in extrinsic terms.

For example, a team-leader, might frame the team’s goal as to “grow as a team,” not to “boost the bottom line.” A sports coach might frame a skater’s goal as “giving your best performance yet at the Nationals,” not “winning a medal at Nationals.”

Extrinsic versus Intrinsic Framing Examples

• Extrinsic
  • Do well to impress my boss at work
• Intrinsic
  • Do well to earn more responsibility at work

• Extrinsic
  • Earn more to boost my status
• Intrinsic
  • Earn more to take the kids on vacation

• Extrinsic
  • Increase time on the treadmill to look
• Intrinsic
  • Increase time on the treadmill to more attractive improve my health

• Extrinsic
  • Go green to save money
• Intrinsic
  • Go green to help the planet

Summary:

• Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and its supporting research talk about both the “why” and the “what” of motivation. SDT works hand in glove with positive theory of motivation, because it emphasizes intrinsic motivation and peoples’ natural growth processes.
• SDT is not mindlessly positive, because it also emphasizes the difficulty of internalizing one’s actions in a world that does not always support free choice and self-expression.
• According to the SDT research, it is ideal to pursue “intrinsic” goals about growth, intimacy, and community more so than “extrinsic” goals such as money, fame, and beauty, and, to pursue these goals with intrinsic or at least identified motivation, more so than external or introjected motivation.
• When participating in goal setting for self or others it’s also best to frame the goals in intrinsic terms (this will help your health/development/the environment), and to emphasize internalized reasons for doing them (this is enjoyable and/or important).

OK…I hope you find this topic as fascinating as I do and see how the different types of motivation will affect your level of personal success.

Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below

Related articles

• The Faces of Motivation And Your Personal Success – Part I (warriormindcoach.com)