Unit 3: Self-determination theory: intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation and creativity

Behaviorism

1. aims to explain all behavior by studying the relationship between stimulus, response, and consequence 

2. focuses on observable events and uses animal subjects 

3. conditioning

Cognitivism

1. infers mental processes influencing behavior 

2. studying higher mental processes using human subjects 

Positive psychology

1. aims to investigate the conditions under which humans thrive and maintain intrinsic motivation

2. self determination theory

Intrinsic/extrinsic motivation

1. intrinsic tendency to seek out novelty and challenge

2. behavior driven by an external reward

Over-justification effect

expected rewards undermine intrinsic motivation by taking away autonomy and shifting evaluation from enjoyment to reward

Discounting principle

people discount one cause of an event if another plausible cause is present (if its possible you are doing something because you are getting paid your enjoyment matters less)

Components of the self determination continuum

1. amotivation: no regulation

2. extrinsic: external regulation, introjected regulation, identified regulation, integrated regulation

3. intrinsic regulation

Amotivation

no regulation or intention

External regulation

compliance and external reward or punishment

Introjected regulation

ego and internal reward or punishment

Identified regulation

personal importance

Integrated regulation

awareness, synthesis with self

Intrinsic regulation

interest and enjoyment

Competence

mastery and skill development

Autonomy

freedom of choice and self-direction

Relatedness

connection and belonging

Thought-action tendency

internal urge triggered by emotion

Fragility of intrinsic motivation and related experiment

1. performance contingent expected reward is most damaging

2. soma puzzle experiment: paid group stopped playing after the task more

3. overjustification effect and discounting principle

Self determination theory

competence, autonomy, and relatedness are essential for intrinsic motivation and wellbeing

SDT application: protecting study motivation experiment

1. one group had to study difficult material for an exam and the other had to explain it to another student

2. group one had lower motivation and performance

SDT application: study motivation self-help to counteract reward

1. regarding feedback as informational (competence, autonomy)

2. immunization via appraisal of initial cause (autonomy)

3. formulating proximal over distant goals (competence)

SDT application: study motivation and teaching approaches

1. feedback that is informational and focused on the process, not student (competence, autonomy)

2. discussing rationale of a task (autonomy)

3. bringing in the peer and the self (relatedness)

SDT application: creativity and emotion, candle puzzle experiment

1. given a box of tacks, matches, and a candle and asked to fix it to the corkboard and burn it without getting wax on the floor (slower with reward)

2. positive emotion variant: shown a comedy video or a math video beforehand (quicker and more frequent completion in comedy group)

3. thought action tendency of positive emotions is exploratory

Emotions and thought-action tendencies

1. emotions trigger urges that guide behavior and information processing

2. broaden and build theory: negative emotions=avoiding harm, positive emotions=approaching opportunity to get more resources

Self determination theory: intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation and creativity studies

1. SDT and intrinsic motivation

2. learning with active/passive motivational set

3. interesting things and curious people

4. relying on AI at work reduces self-efficacy

Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being, Ryan and Deci (2000)

1. investigates the conditions that decrease and increase self-motivation

2. CAR needed for self-motivation and mental health

Quality of Learning with an Active versus Passive Motivational Set (Benware and Deci, 1984).

1. investigated if active orientation leads to more intrinsic motivation and learning

2. learning to teach to another student (active) or pass an exam (passive)

3. active orientation had higher scores and engagement (competence in processing, autonomy in ownership, relatedness in connection)

Interesting Things and Curious People: Exploration and Engagement as Transient States and Enduring Strengths (Silvia and Kashdan, 2009).

1. investigated the momentary feelings of interest and the enduring trait of curiosity

2. state interest: collative variables (complex, uncertain, conflicting) raise interest, interest is determined by appraised understanding, complexity, and trait curiosity

3. trait curiosity: high FID of exploration drive, preference for novelty and discovery, associated w wellbeing

Lee et al. (2026). Relying on AI at work reduces self-efficacy, ownership, and meaning while active collaboration mitigates the effects

1. investigated how AI affects self efficacy, motivation, and performance

2. writing paper with passive AI (copy paste), active collaboration AI (editing), or independently

3. passive use decreased self efficacy, psych ownership, and meaningfulness

4. collaboration was comparable to independent (no competence via mastery, no autonomy via ownership, no relatedness)