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Abstract
Intrinsic motivation is a psychological construct that is thought to
be critical to sustained learning. Students who are intrinsically motivated
display more adaptive and constructive behaviours related to academic success
than those who do not. Yet, it is also unclear what exactly is
intrinsic motivation. In this paper, I describe intrinsic motivation as
a way of being, a particular disposition which certain individuals have in
approaching academic tasks. This way of being is unique and
self-enhancing. The psychological characteristics that underlie
intrinsic motivation are explored.
Children love to play. From birth, humans are
inquisitive and playful. They display a Aubiquitous readiness to learn@ and this natural curiosity leads them
to exploration and experimentation. Without prodding or incentives,
children will strive to figure out how things work, what effects might be
produced by a given action, or to know more about the world in which they
live.
Yet the play itself is unstructured and
undirected. There is no obvious goal except to play. It is self-directed
and is satisfying in-and-of itself.
There is an inherent interest and it is in acting on that interest that
children experience cognitive growth.,
Through play, infants begin to identify patterns; they begin to develop
classes or categories of concepts which become arranged into
hierarchies. They learn to solve problems, make plans and set
goals. In doing so, a sense of mastery emerges as they learn to
exercise self-control.
Consequently, it is in play that we encounter one of the most basic truths of
human nature. Stimulated by curiosity or interest, individuals will naturally
engage in exploratory, playful behaviours that result in an enhancement of
self. The child is
intrinsically motivated.
There are three characteristics that define
intrinsic motivation., First, the
activity is undertaken strictly of the individual=s volition. It is self-initiated; the
individual chooses to engage in the activity. Second, the reward of the
activity, whether enjoyment or the satisfaction of needs, is contained wholly
within the activity. There is no separable outcome other than that
contained within the activity, and this outcome is typically described as
satisfaction, enjoyment
or learning.
Third, the individual engages in the activity because it is inherently
interesting, and it is
the interest from the engaging in the activity that makes it intrinsically
motivating.
Major writers in the field of intrinsic motivation
agree that intrinsic motivation is invoked when an activity is undertaken for
its own sake. By
definition, intrinsic motivation is a self-justifying experience. There seems to be
a general agreement that interest plays a critical role in intrinsic
motivation., ,
, Yet Csikszentmihalyi claimed that it is
the pursuit of enjoyment or satisfaction that gives rise to intrinsic
motivation and individuals will seek out activities that will provide enjoyment
and satisfaction.
Deci & Ryan also suggested that individuals are
intrinsically motivated when the activity is undertaken for pleasure and
satisfaction.
However, they also suggest that intrinsic motivation is driven by needs for
competence and self-determination.
Interest is an important part of intrinsic
motivation, so much so that the two terms are often treated as synonymous, in
part because they result in similar outcomes. As a psychological trait,
interest results in focused attention, increased cognitive engagement,
greater persistence, and, in general, positive affect. While high
interest leads to increased effort, the activities feel relatively effortless
because they are interesting.
Recent research on interest acknowledges two types
of interest: situational, and individual. Situational interest
refers to interest that is invoked by conditions or objects that focus
attention, and may create an affective reaction that is transitory.
Situational interest needs to be triggered and sustained. It tends to
be associated with novelty, variety, or attention-getting mechanisms.
Individual interest is deeper. It represents
a psychological state, a part of the self, an enduring disposition to engage
a class of objects or events. It is a continually evolving relationship
between a person and some subject matter through which the person comes to
identify and be identified with the content, such that the content becomes
part of the person=s identity. As the individual
learns more about the topic and develops positive feelings about it,
opportunities for setting goals and seeking challenges develop. As
these challenges are met and knowledge continues to grow, individual interest
will deepen.
The embodiment of intrinsic motivation may best be
captured in a mode of being Csikszentmihalyi has called flow., , Flow is a particular subjective experience
that occurs when individuals are engaged in intrinsically motivated
activities. In
flow, the individual experiences an autotelic state of consciousness B the activity is enjoyable in and of
itself. It is what people feel when they feel that they would not want
to be doing something else.
Yet, it is not just enjoyment that characterizes
flow. When in flow, a subjective experience of consciousness occurs
such that:
Concentration is very deep to the point that the mind and
body are completely absorbed in the activity;
There is a loss of sense of time -- time passes faster or
slower than normal;
A loss of sense of self B the
self becomes merged with the activity; there is a loss of self-consciousness
and worry, and there are no concerns about failing.
Flow is a melding of consciousness and
activity. Attention is completely focused upon the activity to the
point in which the individual has become completely absorbed in the activity,
and actions are spontaneous and automatic. In describing the flow
experience, one individual stated AYour concentration is very complete. Your
mind isn=t wandering, you are not thinking of
something else; you are totally involved in what you are doing Y your energy is flowing very smoothly.@
When the individual enters into a flow experience,
there is a narrowing of the field of stimuli that are attended to. In
some respects, the outside world ceases to exist. Our observations of
skateboarders indicate that when absorbed in their activities, skateboarders
pay little attention to the outside world. They do not interact with
each other and do not seem readily distracted from attempting to execute
their techniques. They are Ain
the zone@ and their focus is skateboarding.
Likewise, interviews with individuals illustrate this narrowing of the field
of stimuli. AThe game is a struggle, and
concentration is like breathing B
you never think of it. The roof could fall in and, if it missed you,
you would be unaware of it.@ AWhen the game is exciting, I don=t seem to hear nothing B the world seems to be cut off from me
and all there is to think about is my game.@
Because the individual is completely absorbed in
the activity there is an apparent transformation of time. In some
instances, a heightened sense of awareness may give the sensation of time
standing still. For example, A[b]allet
dancers describe how a difficult turn that takes less than a second in real
time stretches out for what seems like minutes.@ On the other hand, a narrowing of
the field of stimuli to exclude that external to the activity may give the
sensation that time has sped up. That is, time passes by without being
noticed. An individual may have been engaged in an activity for hours,
but that it may have seemed like minutes. One sequence of events in the
activity merges into the next seamlessly, spontaneously and automatically
with no regard for external references. Time flies when you are having
fun and it is from this feature that the label Aflow@
was derived.
Flow is also accompanied by a loss of the sense of
self as being separate from the world, accompanied by a feeling of union with
it. AIt=s a Zen feeling, like meditation or
concentration. One thing you=re
after is one-pointedness of mind. Y
it=s like an egoless thing in a way.@ In flow, psychic energy is directed towards
engagement with the task. Consequently, there is no opportunity for
self-scrutiny or for the self to be threatened. There is no fear of
failure, worry about loss of control or concern about opinions of
others. All psychic energy is directed towards the task at hand. Again, this is
illustrated in our observations of skateboards who are Ain the zone.@ They are not concerned with being
scrutinized or performing. They are focused upon executing the next
trick, and if not successful, persisting until success is achieved.
Although a number of accounts of flow have been
published, the experience is nicely portrayed in a scene from Alexander
Solzhenitsyn=s One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich. Denisovich, or Shukhov as he is called in the story,
is a prisoner in a Soviet prison camp in Northern Russia.
In this scene, Shukhov=s company of prisoners have been marched
to a small town outside of the camp. It was a sunny winter=s day: -17 with a blustery wind,
but the temperature had not yet fallen to the point at which they would not
be allowed to work. Shukhov was the mason. His job was to lay
bricks, and it was during this exercise that he began to enter into the flow
experience:
AY Shukhov made no mistakes. YShukhov took up some of the steaming
mortar on his trowel and slapped it into the appropriate place, with his mind
on the joint below Y He smoothed the mortar with his trowel
and then B down with the block! And without
losing a moment he leveled it, patting it with the side of the trowel Y The work went with a rhythm Y Shukhov pressed ahead YSteady. That=s the ticket. He was working so
fast he had not time to wipe his nose. Y And now Shukhov and the other masons felt the cold
no longer. Thanks to the urgent work, the first wave of heat had come over
them ... But they didn=t stop for a moment Y Their feet didn=t feel cold, that was the main thing. Nothing
else mattered. Even the breeze, light but piercing, couldn=t distract them from the work. Y What a pace they had set! They
were driving along the fifth row now. Y Shukhov should have stretched a string higher but
there was no time for it now. Y
[T]he sun was beginning to set. Y
And they=d got into the swing B couldn=t be better.@
Following a flow experience, the self is more
complex in its organization than it was before. This complexity is the
result of two processes: differentiation and integration.
Differentiation refers to a tendency for uniqueness, separating one=s self from others, knowing that one is
a unique entity. Integration refers to a union with others, and with
ideas or entities beyond self. The self is more differentiated after
the flow experience because the challenge within the experience leaves the
individual feeling more capable, competent and autonomous. After each
flow experience the person becomes more of a unique individual. Yet
flow helps to integrate the self because it leads to an ordering of
consciousness. Thoughts, feelings and senses are all directed toward the
same goal. The experience is one of harmony. Every flow
experience provides a sense of discovery, a creative feeling of transporting
the self into a new reality, pushing the individual to higher levels of
performance. It transforms the self by making it more complex, and it
is this growth that is the key to flow activities. AThe self is more complex as a result of experiencing
flow. Y When we choose a goal and invest
ourselves in it to the limits of our concentration, whatever we do will be
enjoyable. And once we have tasted this joy, we will redouble our
efforts to taste it again. This is the way the self grows.@
While this growth of self has been described as
cognitive, other characteristics begin to develop. Growth emanating
from intrinsically motivated experiences, in particular flow,
may include the development of gratitude, altruism and empathy, forgiveness, and humility. For example, in the state of humility,
there is a lack of focus on self. There is no preoccupation with
self. The self is no longer the phenomenological center of its
world. We no longer need to have the need to enhance or defend an Aall-important@ self. There is no need for
self-aggrandizement and there is no arrogance. It is, rather, a state
of self-assuredness. Our focus shifts outward to the beauty of the
world around us and the self becomes focused on the larger community which it
is part of. There is an increased valuing of others, and a greater
appreciation of the value of all things. Consequently, as individuals engage in
intrinsically motivated behaviours and experience flow, their sense of self
is strengthened enabling them to move beyond themselves. The self is no
longer its focus.
Csikszentmihalyi seems to describe a flow experience as
equivalent to a mystical experience. Religious and meditative
experiences are reduced, in his view, to flow experiences. Western
contemplative techniques such as those of St. Ignatius Loyola and St.
Benedict appear to be attempts to focus or control attention. Eastern
religions, in particular Sanskrit Yoga, seem to share qualities with the flow
experience. They seek to achieve a self-enhancing, self-forgetting
experience through control of concentration. Thus, for Csikszentmihalyi, meditative
experiences involve focusing attention and ordering consciousness, and are,
in essence, entirely human experiences. Flow, in particular meditation, is
not seen as a means of communion with the divine or entry into the infinite,
nor is it described in a transcendental manner. Rather, it is
reminiscent of Laplace=s reply to Napoleon when asked to
explain the role of God in his model of the universe: ASir, I have no need of that hypothesis!@
If intrinsically motivated experiences, especially flow,
result in growth of the self, in particular cognitive growth, under what
conditions might intrinsic motivation occur? Self-determination theory
posits that intrinsically motivated behaviour is driven by three
psychological needs: a need for competence, a need for autonomy, and a
need for relatedness.
These needs are innate, propelling individuals into actions that will result
in the satisfaction of those needs. Yet, they also prepare the
individual to continue to seek challenges, and create the feeling that one is
a capable human being.
Our own research indicates that students who feel competent, have an internal
locus of causality, feel a sense of school belonging, and see the teacher as
being supportive are 10 times as likely to achieve a pass than children who
do not feel competent, make external attributions, feel alienated and do not
see their teacher as being supportive of their learning.
Individuals are motivated to try to increase their
sense of competence by seeking out challenges, pursuing goals and increasing
learning. Events that increase one=s sense of competence will enhance intrinsic
motivation. Yet, increasing one=s sense of competence is insufficient. To
engage in an activity, one must perceive one=s self to be capable of performing the task. The
greater one=s perceived capacity to perform the
activity the greater the quality of engagement in the activity,,
and the more
intrinsically motivated the activity will be. Increased self-efficacy is associated with
positive achievement related behaviours, and students who feel efficacious
are more likely to be self-regulating, strategic, and metacognitive than
students who do not. They are also more likely to be able to exercise control
over stressors than may provoke anxiety (Bandura, 1993). Students who
see themselves as capable are more likely to display adaptive, mastery
behaviours while those who do not are more likely to behave in an ego,
performance oriented manner (Dweck, 1986).
In addition to the need for competence, the need
for autonomy is essential to intrinsic motivation. This need is an
innate tendency leading individuals to seek to control aspects of their
environment. The
need for control allows individuals to obtain resources necessary for
survival and adapt to their surroundings. Yet, it is not just the
tendency to exercise control that results in intrinsic motivation;
individuals must also perceive themselves as having control over actions and
outcomes. Autonomy refers to the sense that one=s actions emanate from oneself, and is accompanied
by feelings of freedom and choice. Students who have an internal
perceived locus of causality, or make internal, controllable attributions will display intrinsically motivated
behaviour. These students see outcomes as the results of their actions.
By applying effort and utilizing their knowledge they believe they can
achieve desirable outcomes. They are more likely to be effective
problem solvers, engage more deeply with the content, and persist on
challenging tasks
Perceived autonomy (or an internal locus of causality) is related to
psychological well-being.
People with greater perceived control are better able to cope with stress,
are less anxious and depressed, and respond better in the face of trauma.
The third need conducive to intrinsic motivation is
relatedness Relatedness refers to feelings of
attachments to other individuals, and developing intimate relationships. Children need to
experience secure attachments to parents and students need to develop positive
relationships with their teachers.,
In order to develop and function in an optimal manner, humans need to feel
attached to others. Individuals with well-developed relationships tend
to function better, display better resilience, and report fewer psychological
difficulties. Autonomy develops most effectively when children have a
sense of attachment.
Although perceptions of competence, autonomy, and
relatedness are personal characteristics that support and sustain intrinsic
motivation, other factors appear necessary to induce flow. Flow occurs within a sequence of
activities that are goal directed, requiring concentration and psychic
energy. Consequently, in order to achieve flow, the goals of the
activity need to be clear and immediate. There is a clear focus upon
what is to be achieved so that energy may be directed towards achieving that
goal. The goals are set to maximize the match between challenge and
skill. In flow, the goals are neither too easy nor too difficult, but
are within the limits of the individual. However, it also appears that
the goals must challenge the individual, stretching existing skills and
knowledge to produce growth. At the same time, there is no worry about
not meeting the goal and no fear of failure. Because all psychic energy
is directed towards achieving the goal, there is no focus upon self.
There is no concern about achieving rewards or avoiding punishments.
The self is not concerned with obtaining approval from others or looking
incompetent. It is focused upon the goal and is functioning at its
fullest capacity.
Csikszentmihalyi believed that flow occurred when then level of challenge was high but
within the capabilities of the individual. What is not clear is whether
or not the activity had to be inherently interesting, and whether or not it
is freely chosen, although these seem to be implicit. On the other
hand, Deci & Ryan stated that behaviour is intrinsically motivated when
the activity is interesting and freely chosen. What is not clear is
whether or not flow can be achieved under conditions in which the activity is
not freely chosen. If the individual identifies with a particular
subject matter but that activity is not freely chosen, such as in mathematics
or music, can the individual still experience flow? Given that most
student (and adults) rarely experience flow or are intrinsically motivated,
it would be important to know if flow is possible in conditions other than
those described by Csikszentmihalyi and Deci& Ryan.
I would speculate that flow is possible if certain
conditions are met. First, the goals of the activity need to be clear
and unambiguous, so that attention may be completely focused. Second,
the goals of the activity need to be within the capabilities of the
student. If the goals are clear and within the capabilities of the
student, then three important psychological functions occur: the
student is able to organize cognitive resources to complete the activity; in
doing so, self-efficacy is heightened; self-evaluations will tend to be
self-enhancing. Third, individual interest in the task should be high.
When students are interested in the activity, two psychological functions
occur: they are more willing to expend psychic energy in completing the
task and engage in the self-regulated behaviours necessary to complete
it. Fourth, the student=s self-efficacy would need to be
high. If students are confident they can successfully complete the
activity they will be more willing to invest psychic energy. Fifth,
students need to have an internal locus of causality, recognizing that it is
their own effort, strategies and knowledge that yield the outcome of the
activity. At the same time, they approach the task with a learning
orientation, a desire to increase competence and knowledge. They are
willing to attempt the task even though there may be a risk of not being
successful, if it means that something may be learned. If not
successful, they will make strategy and knowledge based attributions which
will result in learning from mistakes, leaving them feeling optimistic about
future attempts.
Yet at the same time, there are people for
whom these criteria are dispositional and constitute a way of being in
the world. They tend to be well adjusted and optimistic. They
seek challenges, are self-regulating and are able to channel their energies
into task completion. Unfortunately, in Western education, few students
have the opportunities to develop these characteristics and attain this way
of being. Few students (or adults) experience flow and few are
intrinsically motivated
and many display less adaptive patterns of behaviour.
Considerations of intrinsic motivation, flow, and
the underlying psychological characteristics leads to a number of important
educational and therapeutic implications. These could range from simple
changes in classroom practice to fundamental changes to the way education
occurs. Giving students the opportunity to be intrinsically motivated
and experience flow, with its potential for growth, should be one of our
primary concerns. Focusing on the contexts that promote characteristics
which lead to flow, and those that hinder it should be part of every teacher=s vision of the classroom.
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