Motivation

Motivation requires a physical commitment to complete a task. If a lag or a delay exists between what we want to do and what we do, it can create great emotional stress in a person’s life.

Intrinsic motivation occurs when a person is moved to act for the fun or challenge entailed rather than because of external pressures, or rewards.

We are born intrinsically motivated.

Building a tree house just for fun!  In comparison to doing homework to please your teacher

Extrinsic motivation occurs when we complete a task for a secondary outcome; a student who does the work, because she believes it is valuable for her chosen career, is extrinsically motivated because she is doing it for its instrumental value rather than because she finds it interesting.

Research has shown that intrinsic goal pursuit has been associated with positive psychological outcomes [23,25] provides a deeper level of meaning [26], thus further enhancing a person’s performance when achieving their goal [24].

In contrast, extrinsic motives for goal pursuit have been associated with anxiety and depression [27,28}