Main Types And Definition of Motivation in Psychology

In this article, we will discuss what is motivation? Motivation definition and 4 main types of motivation. So, if you are interested in this article then keep reading.

Motivation is a driving force behind any of our actions. It may be book reading, study, learning English language, exercise or any other work which is important for us. Motivation plays an important role in the completion of our tasks.

If you don’t have the motivation to do your task then there are high chances that you will leave that work in the middle without completing it. Besides this, it also improves your productivity and performance.

Motivation Definition And Types in Psychology

Motivation is an important driving force in any aspect of life. It will make your life better if you use motivation in a proper way. Motivation increases your productivity and you enjoy your work.

What is Motivation?

Motivation is a biological, social or psychological state or force that encourages a person to perform some action. Whether it is eating the food to reduce hunger or reading any book to gain knowledge.

Motivation may come from external sources (extrinsic motivation) or internal sources (intrinsic motivation).

Motivation Definition in psychology

According to B.F. Skinner, “Motivation in school learning involves sustaining, persisting, and directing desirable behaviour.”

According to Woodworth, “Motivation is the state of an individual which disposes him to certain behaviour for seeking a goal.”

Sources of motivation

Curiosity to learn new things, goal-setting, need for some things (such as food, clothes, house, etc), and any person (It may be your Teacher, your parents or your idol) are the main sources of motivation.

It also involves the emotional, biological, and cognitive forces that activate behaviour. Beside this, our society and our environment also motivate us to do something.

Types of Motivation in Psychology

Actually, there are two types of motivation in psychology: extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation and others are their subtypes. But on the basis of my research, I found that these four types of motivation you should know.

1: Extrinsic Motivation

The motivation that arises for external rewards such as money, fame, praise, and grades, etc is called extrinsic motivation.

For Example, you are studying to get good grades in exams or may to avoid your parents or teachers anger, then it is extrinsic motivation. Because the reason behind your study is external rewards.

Extrinsic motivation is very important for us. If you are not interested in any task or if you find it boring, then attach some external reward with this task.

Like if you study a book for two hours, then you will eat your favourite chocolate or snacks. It not only helps you to complete your work but it also makes that task interesting for you, as a result, your productivity increases.

You often see many parents use this trick to their child to engage them with any work. So, you can also use extrinsic motivation to make your tasks interesting.

2: Intrinsic Motivation

The motivation that arises for internal rewards such as pleasure, satisfaction, etc is called intrinsic motivation. If you do something for personal sparsification, pleasure or for fulfilment then that work comes into the intrinsic motivation.

For Example, If you are cleaning your room because you love to clean your room or you don’t like the dirty room then it will be intrinsic motivation.

On the contrary, If you are cleaning your room due to the fear of your parents or you don’t want others to make your fun due to your dirty room then it will be extrinsic motivation.

Personally, I prefer intrinsic motivation over extrinsic motivation. Because extrinsic motivation remains for a short period of time and intrinsic motivation remains for a long period of time.

It means that if you work because you like your job then you will complete your tasks with your heart without any distraction and difficulty. Due to this your productivity increases and the chances of your promotion increases.

3: Introjected Motivation

Introjected motivation is a very important type of intrinsic motivation. In introjected motivation, you perform any task due to your inner pressure or fear.

In introjected motivation, a person does something that he does not want to do because he fears not out of a sense of obligation.

For Example, You don’t like your job and boss but even then you do the same job for a long time. It is due to your inner pressure and inner fear.

Like what happens if you leave your current job. Maybe you don’t get a new job, how will you manage your family and your expenses, how you will pay your dues, or due to many other reasons, you don’t leave your job.

The main sources of introjected motivation are guilt, worry or shame. In introjected motivation, you don’t feel confident about your actions and you feel some kind of pressure and guilt.

4: Identified Motivation

Identified motivation is the type of extrinsic motivation. In Identified motivation, you know that something needs to be done but you don’t decide anything about it yet. Identified motivation can be as powerful and useful as intrinsic motivation.

In this, the person doesn’t find any enjoyment and doesn’t have to be an immediate reward. He doesn’t perform any task due to fear or guilt instead he recognized that it will be beneficial for him.

For Example, you go to the gym every day for exercise because you recognize that the workout is very important for a healthy life. Although the exercise doesn’t show any result in the beginning.

But when we do exercise consistently it will improve our health. You can use identified motivation to achieve your end goals that affect an individual’s personal well-being and desires.

There are many books whose centre point is identified motivation like “Start With Why”. You should read these books in your life.