Key Ideas
- Motivation is highly associated with learning.
- Are we motivated to learn through an innate desire or due to external rewards?
- Studies have shown that the more extrinsic motivators are tied to learning, the less intrinsically motivated people were to actually learn (Lepper et al., 1973)
- According to self-determination theory, it is better for schools to have teachers that guide students rather than lecture them.
Example
Think about the reason you're studying right now. Is it because you're curious about Psychology? Or are you simply trying to get a good grade?
Case study
Lepper et al. (1973)
Aim
Does intrinsic and extrinsic motivation impact learning among children?
Method
- Researchers set up a new drawing activity table in a nursery and took note of the children that were there the most. They deemed these children to be intrinsically motivated to do the activity.
- They were split into rooms and given 3 conditions: (1) Expected reward, where they were told they would receive a certificate after finishing the drawing; (2) unexpected reward, where the children received a certificate without prior knowledge; (3) no reward.
Results
The children that received an extrinsic reward were significantly less likely to continue going to the activity table.
Link to Concepts
- Change: We can see here that extrinsic motivators lead to a change in behaviour.
- Bias: Since the population was primarily composed of children, there may be sampling bias involved.
