Punished by Rewards LO14220

Lee Holmer (llh@seattleu.edu)
Tue, 8 Jul 1997 06:32:49 -0700 (PDT)

Replying to LO14199 --

Regarding Morty's comment--

> >I'd like to propose a heretical notion: that there is no such thing as
> >external motivation!!

I couldn't agree more. I suspect that part of the confusion here comes
from thinking of "intrinsic" motivation as inhering in the person, when
actually the term refers to qualities which are inherent in the task.

Thus extrinsic, or external rewards refer to factors which come from
outside the task itself, such as the boss's approval, money, promotion or
demotion, etc. Intrinsic, or internal rewards, arise directly from
aspects of the task, and include things such as the senses of completion,
creativity, autonomy, social service, etc. Whether or not the person is
"motivated" by these feelings in an independent question, anwered by the
internal make-up of the person.

So if the twin concepts of intrinsic and extrinsic are seen as related to
the task, not the person, it fits that the actual "motivation" exists
exclusively within the person.

Looking forward to more of this discussion!

-- 

Lee Holmer <llh@seattleu.edu>

Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>