Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation as Predictors of Personal Characteristics
Charleze Fernandez
Co-Presenters: Individual Presentation
College: College of Liberal Arts
Major: Psychology
Faculty Research Mentor: Verneda Hamm-Baugh
Abstract:
Everyday decisions and actions often require a level of motivation to execute. Two very common types of motivation are intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Hubley et al. (2024) describes intrinsic motivation as taking part in a task due to it bringing internal satisfaction, while extrinsic motivation involves taking part in a task to attain an external reward or outcome. Despite engaging in the same task, one individual may be intrinsically motivated to complete it for internal satisfaction and achievement, while another individual may be extrinsically motivated to complete it for a desired reward at the end. Motivation style, whether intrinsic or extrinsic, may also affect the formation of personality traits. The present study aimed to examine the effect of type of motivation on the rating of personal characteristics.Two narratives were used to distinguish between an intrinsically and extrinsically motivated hypothetical individual. The narratives were similar, however the motivation styles varied. The intrinsically motivated individual was written as choosing to execute or pursue something because they find inherent and personal value in doing so, while the extrinsically motivated individual was written as choosing to execute or pursue something because they anticipate a reward or external outcome. Participants rated the friendliness, confidence, passion, optimism, and motivation of the individual described. It was hypothesized that the personal characteristics of the individual who exhibits intrinsic motivation will be rated higher than the individual who exhibits extrinsic motivation.