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Is Intrinsic Motivation Better Than Extrinsic Motivation?

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Group-Centered Prevention in Mental Health

Abstract

Motivation is the driving force that explains why people act and behave as they do. Even though the image of a carrot dangling from the end of a stick in front of a person’s nose is often used as a symbol of motivation, you cannot actually motivate another person. True motivation must come from within—it must be intrinsic. Prizes or awards (extrinsic) may bribe someone into performing a certain action but compliance is not motivation. If you want your group to be successful, intrinsic motivation must be infused into every aspect of group-centered prevention. An intrinsic motivational environment (the group) can actually change a person’s perceived perceptions of self and guide them into changing their behavior. This chapter discusses the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and how to infuse intrinsic motivation into your group-centered prevention program. A case study gives a detailed description of how to use intrinsic motivation. The training session for this chapter gives two examples of groups using extrinsic rewards and shows how to transform these groups by using intrinsic motivation.

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  1. University of South Carolina Aiken, Aiken, South Carolina, USA

    Elaine Clanton Harpine Ph.D.

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Clanton Harpine, E. (2015). Is Intrinsic Motivation Better Than Extrinsic Motivation?. In: Group-Centered Prevention in Mental Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-19102-7_6

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