Running head: MOTIVATION IN EDUCATION 1 Understanding the Importance of Intrinsic Motivation in an Educational Setting

The United States has been falling behind in education in comparison to other countries and this is potentially influenced by the motivation of its students particularly the intrinsic motivation of its students. Intrinsic motivation is defined as being motivated to do some behavior because the behavior itself is enjoyable and rewarding. This review examined intrinsic motivation in terms of the factors than affect intrinsic motivation and the factors that intrinsic motivation affects, the relationship between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and the influence of culture on intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation was found to be positively associated with outcomes such as increased perceived competence and indirectly with academic performance. Intrinsic motivation was seen to be more beneficial to students than extrinsic motivation and not associated with negative effects. Extrinsic motivation was associated with a decrease in motivation over time, but in small amounts was shown to increase motivation. Cultural differences were suggested to cause differences in intrinsic motivation such that individualistic cultures were most motivated by freedom of choice whereas collectivist cultures were most motivated when choices were made or influenced by those they had a close relationship to. Implications of creating environments conducive to intrinsic motivation are discussed and it is suggested that increasing intrinsic motivation in the classroom could increase students’ enjoyment of learning leading to an improvement in academic performance. MOTIVATION IN EDUCATION 3 Understanding the Importance of Intrinsic Motivation in an Educational Setting In 2015 the drop out rate for students in the United States ages 16-24 was at 6%. This follows a steady decrease in the previous years which suggests some improvement in schools (National Center for Education Statistics, 2015). However, in comparison with the rest of the world PISA, a test that compares academic performance of 15-year-old students in different subjects across the world, showed that as of 2015 the United States had a large percentage of their top performers that scored below the world average in reading and math. This suggests that in comparison to many of the other countries the United States is severely lacking in academic performance. Arguments have been made against the PISA results such that they are not an accurate description of academic performance due to the lack of familiarity many countries have with standardized testing; however, the United States relies heavily on standardized testing and thus this format is familiar to students at this age (PISA 2015 Results, 2016). This suggests that there is an issue with the approach to academics in the United States. Many teachers have attributed this to a lack of motivation in students. Understanding the research behind motivation allows a better understanding of its importance in academics and suggests potential issues with the current educational system. Motivation can be defined using the self determination theory (SDT) proposed by Deci and Ryan (2000) in which motivation is the process by which people are led by social and contextual factors to produce some behavior. Motivation can be separated into two main categories: controlled motivation and autonomous motivation. Controlled motivation is when a person feels obligated, forced, or pressured to do some behavior. They are motivated by the external values of rewards or desire to avoid punishment. For example, a child who cleans their room because they were threatened by the punishment of losing television privileges is MOTIVATION IN EDUCATION 4 motivated through controlled motivation because the benefit of cleaning their room is not being internalized into their self, but rather is the external benefit of avoiding punishment. In contrast, autonomous motivation is when a person feels that a choice to do some behavior is their own and aligns with their goals and beliefs. Autonomous motivation does not equate to independence. A state of complete loss of motivation is an amotivated state. This occurs when both controlled and autonomous motivators fail to lead to the production of some behavior. Motivation can further be defined by intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is seen as completely autonomous in which motivations for doing some behavior are internalized and done because they are inherently enjoyable and rewarding. For example, if a student is fascinated by the work of Shakespeare, then they can be intrinsically motivated to complete assignments for a class concerning Shakespeare not because they are being motivated by the desire to achieve a high grade, but instead because they enjoy learning about Shakespeare and the desire to learn more is rewarding in itself. In contrast, extrinsic motivation is most commonly a form of controlled motivation, however, can become a form of autonomous motivation. It is defined as doing some behavior in order to receive some external reward such as a tangible reward or social approval or to avoid punishment. Extrinsic motivation is most often seen as controlled motivation because the reliance on some external factor leads people to feel as if they lack personal control over completing the behavior and also leads to the feeling of coercion to do the behavior rather than doing a behavior because it satisfies internal needs. For example, a child may clean his room because of the extrinsic motivator of avoiding punishment versus cleaning his room because the act of cleaning his room and having a clean room motivates him. Extrinsic motivation can become autonomous motivation when it becomes internalized. These motivations are external because they aim to achieve some outcome other personal MOTIVATION IN EDUCATION 5 enjoyment, however, have been aligned with an individual’s personal needs and desires. For example, a person may exercise not because they find the behavior inherently enjoyable, but because the act of exercise leads to the outcome of increased strength which may align with the individual’s personal desire. As a result, exercise externally motivating to this individual because it leads to some desired outcome, but the behavior itself is not personally enjoyable or motivating. Researchers in this field commonly devise questions about intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation based on the social determination theory and attempt to mirror questionnaires of similar studies in order to increase validity of these measures. By basing the questionnaires in the social determination theory, researchers attempt to add consistency in these measures while also adding flexibility to what items they emphasize. However, this also leads to questions of validity and it makes it more difficult to compare results from different studies when the measures are not always comparable. This review will examine the factors associated with increases and decreases in intrinsic motivation, the relationship between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation and how that impacts students, and the influence of culture on intrinsic motivation. Understanding what mediates intrinsic motivation and what factors intrinsic motivation mediates can lead to a better understanding of classroom environment and can hopefully suggest ways to decrease amotivation in the classroom and increase students’ autonomous motivation in an attempt to increase academic performance and the desire to learn. Intrinsic Motivation Associated Factors Intrinsic motivation is influential in education because it relies on a person’s internal motivations and enjoyment from what they are learning rather than being dependent on external motivations. If external motivations are removed, then someone who is highly intrinsically MOTIVATION IN EDUCATION 6 motivated has less trouble maintaining their motivation than someone who is reliant on external rewards as their motivation for completing a task. Intrinsic motivation has been associated with many positive outcomes but is also influenced by many different factors. Learning environment, teacher influence, and even individual differences in students leads to differences in intrinsic motivation which can then suggest possible differences in educational outcomes. As a result, understanding intrinsic motivation becomes incredibly important for understanding educational outcomes. Intrinsic motivation is also influenced by perceived competence which refers to an individual’s perception of their own capabilities and strengths in some environment or while doing some activity. Gottfried (1990) used teacher’s ratings of intrinsic motivation and self perceived competence in seven-year-old children and examined these same items two years later. This was measured using the Young Children’s Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory designed for grades first through third which was developed from the Children’s Academic Intrinsic Motivation Inventory. Both scales are considered valid and reliable based on previous research. It was found that intrinsic motivation was positively correlated to achievement and perceived competence, and negatively related to academic anxiety (Gottfried, 1990). Similar results were found with Freiberger, Steinmayr, and Spinath (2012) using second grade students. They found that students’ competence beliefs mediated their perception of their intrinsic motivation and their perception of their achievement. This suggests that perceived academic competencies have a positive effect on intrinsic motivation. These results make sense because when students feel good about their own abilities and performance, then it can allow for an increase in enjoyment in what they are learning and therefore be motivating to them (Freiberger et al., 2012). MOTIVATION IN EDUCATION 7 Otis, Grouzet, and Pelletier (2005) also examined how intrinsic motivation changes over time, but focused on students in 8th through 10th grade and