EXTRINSIC & INTRINSIC MOTIVATION

Digital products and experiences help us to manage our lives, tasks and projects faster and more efficiently, right? How many times have you endeavored to get a task or project done, and been entirely in the mood to finish it in a timely manner well before the deadline, in monk mode? Then you plan, grind it out, execute, and you nail it? Chances are, you've had these moments of great motivation and internal inspiration to get you through some times of uncertainty and you're able to accomplish something meaningful. However, sometimes motivation seems to be only available after a few mugs of coffee, a decent sum of money or a pat on the head.

Clients and customers, expect experiences “that dazzle their senses, touch their hearts and stimulate their minds” (Schmitt, 1999). With the right dose of motivation, you can provide your users with satisfying experiences and help modify behaviors in meaningful ways for the customer and the business.

Behavioral scientists, researchers and human-centered designers motivate themselves to influence behaviors in products, services and systems every day. There are two different types of motivation:?extrinsic?and?intrinsic. Let's go through both in detail, providing examples.

For instance, I'm motivated to learn, share and teach. I expect no monetary gain or accolade for this. I'm motivated intrinsically to do it. I have a voracious reading regimen for the same reason.

Extrinsic Motivation

Extrinsic motivation is a construct that states that an activity is done in order to attain some separable outcome. This is the reward part of motivation. Whether it be praise, money, or accomplishment. Having a sense of accomplishment and achievement is the biggest factor in extrinsic motivation. People naturally want to have a means by which to understand that their efforts have not gone unnoticed, and even a certificate of achievement is a great reward for tasks that might be of?less-than-pleasing?work. Many scientists, researchers and designers thrive in this environment, but extrinsic motivation can be a means by which to modify behaviors for yourself, too. Extrinsic motivation also comes with the?will?to do hard tasks for greater rewards or recognition, and this may actually be considered a personal development challenge.

There are limits to extrinsic motivators. If we provide excessive rewards, the receiver might actually experience a reduction in intrinsic motivation, a tendency which has been called the?over-justification effect. Extrinsic motivation is peripheral in nature. The preferred and the most argued motivation is remuneration, or some type of material gain. Here are some examples:

• Employee of the month
• Benefit plans
• Incentives and rewards
• Organized actions
• Bonuses
• Social Recognition

Intrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic motivation signifies that the individual’s motivational stimuli are originating from within. The person possesses the desire to complete a particular task through a specific use flow, because the outcomes are in accordance with their belief system or satisfies an aspiration, thereby relevance is connected to it.

This is almost the exact opposite of extrinsic motivation, where the rewards, while known, can either be tangible or psychological in nature. Intrinsic motivation, however, comes from the inside. People who become knowledgeable in their field for the love of satiating their curiosity often become happier knowing that their social status is boosted. Understanding the functional, emotional and social aspects of JTBDs is helpful in understanding needs through a 'Jobs' lens.

Encouraging people to set and meet goals, varying from short-term to long-term, provides internal rewards and motivation. Our deep sense of purpose has the strongest motivational energy. Here are a few examples:

• Contentment:?Most of us need to feel that we, and our decisions, are acknowledged by others
• Curiosity:?All of us have the desire to be in the know
• Respect: All of us need to value guidelines and ethics
• Self-reliance:?All of us need to feel we are independent
• Order:?All of us need to be sorted
• Power:?All of us aspire to have impact
• Purpose:?We all need to do something meaningful

Reward System

Intrinsic rewards are a bit different in that the physical outcome of actions, not specific rewards, drive customers to do well in their jobs. Success is the means by which to base one’s personal work ethic and achievement.

There are?four?primary intrinsic rewards, and humans tend to view each reward differently. They are:

• A Sense of Meaningfulness. What is the importance of your fulfillment of purpose? Of course, this varies greatly by individual, but your sense of purpose and direction are strongly supported by the fact that you put a lot of time and effort into that work which you find worth your efforts.
• A Sense of Choice. This involves a feeling of having control over every aspect of your job and how you go about completing your work. The more sense it makes to you to perform an action, the more mastery you’ll tend to feel in your field. When you believe in your strengths to accomplish tasks and goals, you feel more compelled to take responsibility for the successes.
• A Sense of Competence. If you have a personal benchmark for excellence in your user activities, then you know that it will be able to meet the same benchmarks established by others.
• A Sense of Progress. To know we've accomplished or overcome something and made strides to excel is a powerful motivator.

If this consistency in quality of work sustains itself over the long term, you can almost guarantee that you’re creative enough to handle some of the toughest requirements for the very tasks over which you have confident mastery, that is recognized by others. With this also comes with a sense of satisfaction, and even some artistry in association with your work. It's pride of purpose, even in an unrewarding job. Call me a dreamer but, I believe we don't have to bribe people to do better. There are plenty of behavioral modification apps that do this. Rewards should be unique to the person's sense of value/s. But rewards and gaming people to get what we want is a dangerous and slippery slope that can easily devolve into manipulation at best and mind control through propaganda at worst. Just look at Big Tech/Social. I'm a firm believer education and facilitating 'Aha' moments. When things come together, knowledge gaps filled and dots connect, that is our greatest cognitive reward and we all seek those moments subconsciously.

How Do Businesses Block Employees

We want to contribute.?We have an innate desire to make a difference in the world, and the organization can be a a great catalyst for doing that. Businesses make it difficult for us to understand how we can make a difference. Often, management fails to communicate the business’s goals and strategy to us. leaving us, unsure of the larger purpose and mission of the business and don’t recognize how our roles fit that purpose.

We generally choose to do right.?We recognize the difference between right and wrong. We face pressure to hit goals, causing us to bend the rules or hide information. Lucrative bonuses and access to company assets can tempt employees to cross the line and betray our sense of right and wrong. Internal controls and safeguards are not in place to guard against temptation, and boundaries around unethical behavior are unclear. Especially in the case of Fintech or startups with lucrative sales bonuses and incentives.

We want to achieve.?Many work to capture extrinsic rewards such as money, promotions, and praise. People also have an innate drive to feel a sense of personal achievement. Employees lack the resources necessary to complete their tasks. Or, they face so many competing demands that they are unable to focus on any single objective with enough intensity to achieve the desired outcomes. Tons of meetings, fragmented stop/starts, poor job intake or task goals creates entropy. Our productivity becomes scattered and diffused, hindering efforts to achieve our daily goals.

We want to innovate.?The urge to create and experiment is a powerful instinct that has allowed us to evolve our standard of living. When we fail to innovate it's because we lack the encouragement and resources or we're afraid to risk challenging the status quo. We worry that if we voice opinions that seem counter or radically different, superiors and colleagues will not support us.

A Sense of Progress.

In this reward tier, you really feel that all of your efforts have been concerted towards accomplishment and completion. Once you’ve reached that threshold, the forward momentum you’ve built up to that point has feels like inertia giving you lift. With this comes a strong feeling of confidence in those choices you’ve made that will undoubtedly pay off in dividends in the future.

The following are links to the Center For Non Violent Communication and a common benchmark for an empathy related, human needs inventory. Also, links to better understand what humans value and are looking for from, love, happiness, purpose and unity. Understanding human values and needs will ensure you're finding meaningful ways to support and nurture others with purpose and in your content, design, education, behavioral modification and communication. Words and voice matter so choose yours wisely. Software is a tool for getting a job done, moreover, it's a vehicle for communication and education. Properly designed, it can change people's lives and their behavior.

ELEMENTS OF VALUE:

https://media.bain.com/elements-of-value/