Psychology

All About the Types of Motivation in Psychology

Motivation can come from both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Intrinsic motivation refers to motivations that are motivated by internal rewards, whereas extrinsic motivation refers to motivations that are motivated by external rewards. The types of motivation found within these two broad categories, however, are more detailed and focus on more specific motivating factors. Although understanding general rewards is critical, motivation types falling outside these broad intrinsic and intrinsic categories can help you identify specific rewards and incentives you can use to motivate others. As a result, we’ll begin with the broad categories of motivation before delving deeper into the various types.

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The Different Types of Motivation

The following are the major types of motivation and the internal or external rewards that they use to motivate:

1. Intrinsic Motive

The term intrinsic motivation refers to a wide range of factors beyond the external rewards found in society, such as self-improvement or helping out a friend who is in need. If you are motivated by the prospect of gaining valuable skills, you may be motivated to advance in your career. On the other hand, you may have been motivated to succeed by a desire to make a positive impact on others. Though the examples provided above illustrate intrinsic motivation in a positive light, this motivation can also have negative implications. To motivate yourself to learn new things, for example, you can visualize that you are not satisfied if you do not learn anything new. The actions you took resulted in a positive outcome, but the motivation you used was geared towards preventing a detrimental outcome, rather than driving a positive one. Various types of motivation exist for various reasons. In general, intrinsic motivation, whether positive or negative, tends to be more sustainable than extrinsic motivation because it emphasizes positive or altruistic things that can be controlled. On the other hand, extrinsic motivation is typically centered around things that are given to you by someone else and are therefore beyond your control.

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2. Extrinsic Motive

Motivation that comes from external rewards such as money or praise, is what is called extrinsic motivation. Motivation by external factors is more common than intrinsic motivation, and includes achieving goals as a result of financial incentives, fear, or expectations. People are often motivated to advance in their careers by the prospect of a raise. Motivation can sometimes be negative, just like intrinsic motivation. Your motivation may come from fear of being fired, if you are afraid of losing your job. The study shows that extrinsic motivation has a variety of types, such as external motivators and external drivers, which demonstrate how effective they are as motivations. It is not as simple as labeling motivation as internal or external. Also, Read: Top 15 Psychological Tricks to Make Yourself Happy

Internal Motivation Types

Here are some examples of intrinsic motivation and the rewards that they use to motivate people:

1. Motivation for Learning and Competence :

When it comes to competition motivation, also known as learning motivation, the process itself motivates people more than the outcome. People who are competent are motivated to learn and improve as they progress towards their goal or finish tasks rather than when they come to a final destination. Rather than being motivated by salary motivation, you are motivated by your skills or by learning. The strategies outlined here are extremely effective and can be incorporated into nearly any motivation strategy. Due to the fact that new, relevant skills have more value than monetary compensation, new possessions are often more valuable than money.

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2. Motivational Attitude :

Motivating yourself or others by changing your attitude is considered attitude motivation. Motivated by attitude, people engage in actions and interactions with the purpose of creating a positive and uplifting environment for themselves and others, which shares some similarities with externally-focused social motivation discussed below. If you’re motivated to volunteer at a soup kitchen or work for a non-profit because it makes you happy to make other people happy, you are motivated by changing your attitude. Also, if you are a manager who enjoys seeing your direct reports succeed and grow, you are engaging in attitude motivation.

External Motivation Types

Below are several examples of extrinsic motivation and rewards that companies use to motivate their employees:

1. Motivation through Incentive :

In contrast to achievement motivation, incentive motivation involves motivating people more by the reward than by the achievement of the goal. Incentives motivate people to act primarily by the prospect of a reward (which is often specific) rather than by the pursuit of a goal. However, incentive motivation isn’t necessarily negative. The two can actually be used in tandem, despite their apparent opposites. Also, Read: Top 10 Ways on How to Motivate Employees

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2. Motivation through Fear :

The fear of consequences motivates people with this type of motivation. As a negative motivator, fear motivation is based on the desire to avoid pain or consequences as opposed to a reward. Fear motivation utilizes negative motivators, such as being fired, and punishment rather than positive motivators to influence your behavior and move you toward your goals, tasks, or delivery deadlines. In spite of appearances, fear motivation can actually be advantageous. If you are in need of weight loss, you can plan a summer pool party at your apartment complex or house and use the fear of not being in shape at the event to motivate you to stay in shape.

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