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Ulterior motivation
We often weigh up intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, but can that be taken too far?
What motivates us to do something? Many people spend a fair portion of their time working for an income. Provided the level of the compensation is right, money can apparently motivate us. Likewise, the prospect of the outcome of an activity might spur us on: crystal clear windows, a neatly trimmed lawn, a shelf for our books that are currently scattered all over the place — these can provide us with the necessary drive to get out bucket, sponge and chamois, fire up the lawnmower, or pop down to our favourite Swedish self-assembly furniture store and get busy DIYing. Not everything we do is this instrumental, though.
Some activities appear to provide us with some kind of benefit — utility, economists might say — in their own right. Going for a walk, calling a friend, tinkering with our model railway, practising the saxophone, these are activities that appear to give us joy without the need for some kind of consequence. Here, we experience intrinsic, rather than extrinsic motivation. And perhaps not surprisingly, enjoyment and material compensation can very well go together.
