The Motivation behind Honesty: Intrinsic or Extrinsic?

Honesty is considered to be one of the most ethical qualities, yet it is one of the most difficult to maintain. In fact, Groucho Marx humorously noted, "There is one way to find if a man is honest: ask him. If he says ‘yes’ he’s a crook." Although most people lie occasionally, honesty is vital in both personal and professional life, as it is the key to building trust and maintaining relationships.

However, humans are prone to self-deception and can lie to themselves to justify their dishonesty. Dan Ariely's book, The (Honest) Truth about Dishonesty, shows that people can believe they are honest even though they lie or cheat in small ways. They tell themselves that they are only dishonest in ways that don't matter. This self-deception protects their reputation, integrity, and the trust others have in them.

Commitment and dedication are essential for long-term growth in both personal and professional life. During my post-graduation, I learnt in one of the courses: Collective Action in Cooperation (CAC), the importance of commitment in all areas of life. While cooperation and collective action are the best ways to achieve Pareto optimality, it is challenging to attain. Every person has different drives for their behaviour, making it challenging to motivate them. Psychologists have proposed two ways of thinking about motivation: extrinsic (external) and intrinsic (internal). Both have their importance and impact human behaviour differently.

Adam Smith, the founding father of modern economics, believed that if everybody behaves in their self-interest, it is good for everyone in the end. Self-interest has long-run implications beyond immediate utility. In contrast, Immanuel Kant, an 18th-century German philosopher, believed that some actions are just right and some are wrong, independent of the consequences. If people are motivated by values, then incentives, codes of conduct, bonus systems, and other such things may not make sense.

Although the concept of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation may seem irrelevant in today's world, it is still pertinent. Have you ever encountered a dilemma while making decisions in your daily life? Do you regret your decisions after taking them, or do you have to fight with yourself before making any decision? Have you ever felt that things, people, and places are not working the way they should? I am not sure about your answer, but it does baffle my mind; quite often. Extrinsic motivation is so powerful over intrinsic motivation that it can even lead to the "Over-Justification effect," where excessive external rewards for an internally rewarding behaviour led to reduction in intrinsic motivation. This makes people irritated and the chances of losing control over their mind increases. Every other person I come across have some sort of resentment for any people, any institution or for the system (government). Actually, we all have these, it’s just a matter of expression and acceptance. Few oppose, few accept completely but majority of us undergo everyday form of resistance; reacting in bits and pieces.

The Indian yogi and mystic, Jaggi Vasudev, commonly known as "Sadhguru," while preaching about harnessing the power of the mind, suggests not identifying oneself with anything or any person. This way, all your expectations will be held in check, allowing you to focus more efficiently on your work. Consequently, intrinsic motivation will replace extrinsic motivation in your life. Lord Krishna, who played a crucial role in the Mahabharata, is a good example of someone who did not identify with anything or anyone in the war. As a sannyasi, or one who has abandoned his identity, Lord Krishna was able to ensure that Arjuna did not identify himself with his family and gurus in the war, which made his role possibly much better and important in the war.

Another idea is the concept of decentralization and autonomy, which is popular in today's world. It seeks benefits like diversification, product and market development, motivation, better control and decision-making, and exclusive growth. Global governments are promoting a sense of togetherness for sustainability and social and environmental causes. But isn't this idea somewhat lifeless, given that the number of people working for individuals is far greater than the number of people working for the common good?

Imagine developing a reputation for tactful but complete honesty, which others know they can always rely on. What an invaluable resource you'd become! People who say they want to hear the truth but are more interested in being praised will quickly learn either not to ask you for your views or that the value of hearing the truth, no matter how painful, is greater than keeping their egos protected because it affords them the opportunity to reflect and self-improve. Others often have a far more accurate perspective on our character flaws than we do. If we are genuinely interested in improving ourselves or our work, what we need from them is not flattery; it is the truth.

All these ideas might confound you as everything is situated in a specific context and it is both difficult and unfair to generalise everything. The world we live in today is vastly different from the context of Lord Krishna and Arjuna in the Mahabharata. Although "Seva" - selfless service - appears to be the ideal solution in such a scenario, it may not always be practical and feasible. Rather than attempting to regulate right and wrong, we can regulate ourselves. However, since the concept of right and wrong varies from person to person, it cannot be generalized. Until now, we have made decisions based on self-interest, which has led us to our current positions in life. In whatever role, position or profession we are today is because of those decisions, can we now just work for the profession that we are in. It seems a bit easier to me because every profession has a well-defined role and is in sync with the concept of right and wrong. Every job in this world has importance because of the basic reason that, it can only exist if people need those. So, we should take pride and dignity in whatever we do. If we can justify and respect our work, certainly we will get the same from the other side.?If we can identify ourselves with what we are and what our current role (in work) is; we will certainly experience the true power of our mind – rewarding us in real sense.