Intrinsic Motivation

324 Pages·1975·8.397 MB·English

by  Edward L. Deci (auth.)

Intrinsic
Motivation
PERSPECTIVES IN SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
A Series of Texts and Monographs • Edited by Elliot Aronson
INTRINSIC MOTIVATION
By Edward L. Deci ·1975
In preparation
SCHOOL DESEGREGATION
By Harold B. Gerard and Norman Miller
A Continuation Order Plan is available for this series. A continuation order will bring
delivery of each new volume immediately upon publication. Volumes are billed only upon
actual shipment. For further information please contact the publisher.
Intrinsic
Motivation
Edward L. Deci
Department of Psychology
University of Rochester
PLENUM PRESS· NEW YORK AND LONDON
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Deci, Edward L
Intrinsic motivation.
(Perspectives in social psychology)
Bibliography: p.
Includes index
1. Motivation (Psychology) I. Title. [DNLM: 1. Motivation. 2. Behavior. BF683
D295i]
BF683.D43 153.8 75-17613
ISBN-13:978-1-4613-4448-3 e-ISBN-13:978-1-4613-4446-9
001: 1 0.1 007/978-1-4613-4446-9
First Printing - August 1975
Second Printing - June 1976
© 1975 Plenum Press, New York
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1975
A Division of Plenum Publishing Corporation
227 West 17th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011
United Kingdom edition published by Plenum Press, London
A Division of Plenum Publishing Company, Ltd.
Davis House (4th Floor), 8 Scrubs Lane, Harlesden, London, NWI0 6SE, England
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming,
recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher
Preface
As I begin to write this Preface, I feel a rush of excitement. I have
now finished the book; my gestalt is coming into completion.
Throughout the months that I have been writing this, I have,
indeed, been intrinsically motivated. Now that it is finished I feel
quite competent and self-determining (see Chapter 2). Whether or
not those who read the book will perceive me that way is also a
concern of mine (an extrinsic one), but it is a wholly separate issue
from the intrinsic rewards I have been experiencing.
This book presents a theoretical perspective. It reviews an
enormous amount of research which establishes unequivocally that
intrinsic motivation exists. Also considered herein are various
approaches to the conceptualizing of intrinsic motivation. The
book concentrates on the approach which has developed out of the
work of Robert White (1959), namely, that intrinsically motivated
behaviors are ones which a person engages in so that he may feel
competent and self-determining in relation to his environment.
The book then considers the development of intrinsic motiva
tion, how behaviors are motivated intrinsically, how they relate to
extrinsically motivated behaviors, and how intrinsic motivation is
affected by extrinsic rewards and controls. It also considers how
changes in intrinsic motivation relate to changes in attitudes, how
people attribute motivation to each other, how the attribution
process is motivated, and how the process of perceiving motivation
(and other internal states) in oneself relates to perceiving them in
others.
The book assumes that there is personal knowledge (i.e., that
persons have access to their own internal states in a way in which
v
VI Preface
others do not}. However, it also shows that these internal states are
changeable and that cognitive processes represent one means by
which they change. The emphasis of the book is on cognitive
processes, and the reasons for this are simple: Not only do
cognitions affect internal states such as attitudes and motives, but,
as this work shows, individuals choose what behaviors to engage in
on the basis of their cognitions about the outcomes of those and
other behaviors.
This work is intended as a source book on intrinsic motivation;
it has attempted to draw together from many areas of psychology
all of the available literature related to intrinsic motivation. Differ
ent aspects have been the subjects of varying degrees of attention,
and this is largely a reflection of my own interest. The book is
appropriate for use as a textbook for upper-level courses and
seminars in human motivation, social cognition, and social psychol
ogy. In Chapter 8 some of the applications of research and theory
on intrinsic motivation are considered, especially as they relate to
the areas of education and organizational motivation.
Throughout the book I have employed the referent pronoun
"he" in the generic sense, i.e., to refer to such nouns as "person." I
have done so, despite the current criticism of this usage as sexist,
because there is to my mind no really satisfactory alternative
available to the writer. The use of "they" to refer back to "person" is
grammatically incorrect, and the use of "he or she" is rather
cumbersome for repeated use throughout a work of this length.
I originally began investigating the area of intrinsic motiv(!tion
about five years ago when I was a second-year graduate student in
the Psychology Department at Carnegie-Mellon University. At that
time Vic Vroom was very supportive and helped me begin to
formulate my ideas on the topic. I began writing the book about
two years ago while working as a part-time research associate in the
Management Research Center at the University of Rochester.
Bernard Bass, director of the Center, provided the financial
support which enabled me to begin this book, and Wayne Cascio
and Carl Benware were at that time working actively with me on the
research reported in Chapters 5, 9, and 10. To all these people I
acknowledge my gratitude.
I wrote most of the book during the 1973-1974 academic year,
with the financial support of an interdisciplinary postdoctoral
Preface VII
fellowship at Stanford University granted by the National Institute
of Mental Health. I am grateful to both Stanford and the NIMH
for providing me with a stimulating (and sunny) environment for
working on this project.
Elliot Aronson read the entire manuscript and made many
useful suggestions. I appreciate his help and his friendship.
I would also like to acknowledge the aid of Daniel Berlyne,
who commented on the entire manuscript; Ralph Haber and Zur
Shapira, who read several chapters; Edward Walker, who contrib
uted to Chapter 2; Doug Stern and Ned Dwelle, who made
suggestions about Chapter 1; David Elkind, who offered feedback
on Chapter 3; and Eileen Zucker, who reviewed Chapter 10.
Charles (Skip) Lowe helped enormously by making extensive
comments on an early version of Chapter 10, and David Landy
worked with me in developing some of the ideas presented in
Chapter 7. I appreciate the intellectual and personal companion
ship of both these colleagues very much.
During the first few months that I worked on this book, I was
living in a commune with six other psychologists: Drs. Harold
Bernard, Ken Cohen, Sandy Ehlinger, Judy Krusell, David Landy,
and Allan Schwartz. Their love and support was at times distract
ing, nonetheless it provided me with energy to live and work
enthusiastically. To them, and to the rest of the "extended
Canterbury"-Nancy Wickens-Thies, Lou Morrice, Amanda Mor
rice, Louise Sheinman, and Mitchell Bernard-this book is affec
tionately dedicated.
Stanford, California Edward L. Deci
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank the following publishers for permission to
reprint quotations of copyrighted material:
Academic Press, Inc: de Charms, R. Personal causation. New York: Academic
Press, 1968; and Pritchard, R. D., Equity theory: A review and critique.
Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 1969, 4, 176-211.
American Association for the Advancement of Science: Copyright holder of
Berlyne, D. E. Exploration and curiosity. Science, 1966, 153,25-33.
American Psychological Association: White, R. W. Motivation reconsidered: The
concept of competence. Psychological Review, 1959,66,297-333; McClelland, D.
C. Toward a theory of motive acquisition. Amencan Plychologlll, 1965, 20,
321-333; Hebb, D. O. Drives and the c.n.s. (conceptual nervous system).
Psychological Review, 1955, 62, 243-254; Kagan, J. Motives and development.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1972,22,51-66.
Columbia University Press: Woodworth, R. S. Dynamic psychology. New York:
Columbia University Press, 1918.
Crown Publishers: Applied Psychology from Ausubel, Nathan (Ed.), A treasury of
JeWl.lh folklore. New York, Crown, 1948, pp. 440-441.
Hart Publishing Co: Neill, A. S. Summerhill: A radical Approach to child rearing. New
York: Hart, 1960.
Harvard University Press: Bruner, J. S. On knowing: Essays for the left hand.
Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1962.
McGraw-Hili Book Co: Tolmon, E. C. Principles of purposive behavior. In S.
Koch (Ed.), Psychology: A study ofa science, Vol. 2. New York: McGraw-Hili, 1950,
pp.92-157.
Pitman Publishing Corp: Copyright holders for Holt, J. How children fail. New
York: Pitman, 1964.
University of Nebraska Press: Hunt, J. MeV. Intrinsic motivation and its role in
psychological development. In D. Levine (Ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motiva
tion, 1965, 13, 189-282.
John Wiley and Sons: Heider, F. The psychology of interpersonal relations. New York:
Wiley, 1958; Young, P. T. Motivation and emotion. New York: Wiley, 1961.
viii
Contents
I THE NA TURE OF
INTRINSIC MOTIVATION
1. Some Comments on the "Why" of Behavior 3
Mechanistic Approaches 5 • Organismic Approaches 13 •
About ThIs Book 20
2. Conceptualizations of Intrinsic Motivation 23
Drive-Theory Accounts 26 • Optimal Stimulation 31 •
The ReductIon of Uncertainty 51 • Competence and Self
Determination 54 • Concluding Comments 59 •
Summary 62
3. Intrinsic Motivation and Development 65
The Intrinsic Motivation of Development 66. The Development
of Intrinsic Motivation 72 • Summary 91
4. The Intrinsic Motivation of Behavior 93
A Cognitive View of Behavior 96 • Stimulus Inputs 98 •
Awareness of PotentIal Satisfaction 99 • Goal Selection 106
• Goal-Directed Behavior 119 • Rewards and
Satisfaction 121 • Summary 124
IX
X Contents
II EXTRINSIC REWARDS AND
INTRINSIC MOTIVATION
5. Cognitive Evaluation Theory: Effects of Extrinsic
Rewards on Intrinsic Motivation 129
Change in Perceived Locus of Causality 138 • Change in
Competence and Self-Determination 140 • Two Aspects to
Rewards 141 • Summary 158 • Author's Note 159
6. Cognitive Dissonance Theory: Effects of Insufficient
Justification on Intrinsic Motivation 161
Dissonance and Intrinsic Motivation 165 • Dissonance and
Attitudes 171 • Dissonance and Motives 182 •
Summary 185
7. Inequity and Intrinsic Motivation 187
Equity Theory 189 • Overpayment Inequity 192 •
Underpayment Inequity 200 • Summary 206
8. Implications and Applications 207
Intrinsic Motivation and Education 210 • Organizational
Motivation 219 • Summary 228
III RELA TED ISSUES
9. Pro-Attitudinal Advocacy: Effects of Extrinsic Rewards
on Attitudes 231
Self-Perception Theory 236 • Psychological Reactance 237
• Summary 239
10. Attribution and Motivation 241
The Attribution of Motivation 248 • The Process of Making
Attributions 268 • The Motivation of Attribution 278 •
Summary 279