Teaching Little Brains
Teaching Little Brains
57. Watch Out For Dangling Carrots! - External Motivation Can Hurt!
Hello Teacher Brain!
If I told you I'd give you $1000 to work out every day for a year, do you think you'd do it?
The answer might surprise you! Studies show that external rewards (like money), can actually have negative effects on motivation! Not only that, but they squelch creativity, encourage cheating and can result in exploitation of the reward-based system.
Like most things, the answers are within.
Intrinsic motivation is long-lasting, and has positive benefits to self-esteem, resilience, achievement, and engagement.
In the 1940s, Professor Harry F. Harlow discovered intrinsic motivation while he was studying rhesus monkeys. Up until then, it was believed there were only 2 types of motivation, and external rewards were believed to offer the greatest motivation for behaviour. Harlow proved that untrue.
However, his discovery didn't become validated until 2 decades later when Edward Deci picked up where Harlow left off. He discovered that not only did extrinsic reward not increase motivation, it actually decreased it.
In 2011, Daniel H. Pink published the book, Drive, on the matter. In it he identified the 3 pillars of intrinsic motivation as:
- Autonomy
- Mastery
- Purpose
Today we dive in!!
LINKS
Coaching with Sarah Nykoruk
LIGHTS ON. - Be the Boss of Your Brain
Modern Classrooms Project - Self Paced Learning Series