Extrinsic Motivation In Education

953 Words4 Pages
Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation The vast amount of existing literature focuses on extrinsic sources of motivation, which have been found to be less effective in the long term. Reiss (2005) found out that extrinsic rewards have a negative impact on intrinsic motivation because it encourages individuals to find motivation only in things that give them immediate gratification and which must be supplied from time to time. Consequently, extrinsic-based motivation is considered ineffective because individuals rely on rewards that offer instant gratification, or which must be offered continuously to keep them motivated. Also studying the rationale for motivation was Kaur (2013) who acknowledged the significance of Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory…show more content…
This view is supported by research findings by Kuhbandner et al. (2013), which showed that the use of extrinsic rewards in education for test performance undermines long-term memory acquisition. Kuhbandner et al. (2013) credited emphasize of extrinsic motivation to the materialistic nature of the western society, where career success is seen as a gateway to a better life by enabling one to afford life's luxuries. This is not surprising considering the centrality of the concept of the American Dream in the educational and career pursuits of people in western societies. Thus, educators and employers must promise learners and employees, respectively, a future reward that involves material success as a means of promoting performance. Accordingly, success in school must be linked with a good career, and career growth must be linked with material success. Kuhbandner et al. (2013)'s study lacks concepts to address limitations of extrinsic sources of…show more content…
They established a correlation between having a strong positive character such as self-discipline and determination to succeed. Also, Leung (2015) observed that distractions have an adverse effect on task performance. This observation supports Niemiec, Rashid & Spinella's idea that it is important to train individuals to avoid distractions by developing the ability to focus attention on task at hand. Similar findings have been cited in learning (Goundar, 2014; Fang, 2009; Young, 2006), whereby the use of technological gadgets have been found to create distractions by encouraging students to shift focus to non-educational areas such as social media. From these studies, it could be argued that promoting mindfulness will help to avoid external sources of distraction, and in doing so help employees and learners to maintain high levels of motivation in their immediate

More about Extrinsic Motivation In Education

Open Document