The 6 types of motivation and how to integrate it into lesson design

Cause and consequence

We often think that motivation is all about strength. Do whatever it takes to generate the most motivation. This comes across most often in the workplace, where the most motivated worker is often the one that’s the most lauded.

But motivation isn’t all about intensity. It’s also about the type of motivation and the direction of the motivation. To put it in other words – it’s the “why” of the person’s behaviour (Brown & Ryan, 2015) that tells us the nature and focus of the motivation.

If we look at two graduate students in a Master’s programme, both of whom are equally motivated, and dig deep into their motivations – we may find that one student is learning for the sake of curiosity and the love of the subject, while another student is learning for the sake of a career change and a larger salary. They both have a different “why”.

And when it comes to education, the difference between the types of motivation may not have immediate effects on their grades – but it will have many ramifications for the student’s emotional and intellectual development (Brown & Ryan, 2015).

Psychological needs that power learning design

Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000) gives us three psychological needs that impact learning: autonomy, competence, and relatedness.

• Autonomy means that learners must feel like their choices matter and their voices are heard. This creates endorsement that comes from within themselves, rather than from without.

• Competence means that the level of challenge must meet the level of skill. In fact, those are the conditions for flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990) an optimal experience of engagement that we should all strive towards.

• Relatedness means that learners must feel connection and they must feel cared for. This helps with the internalisation.

All these point towards the idea of regulation of behaviour, which means the ability to control one’s actions, thoughts, and feelings in alignment with one’s goals. That control allows one to respond appropriately in situations and basically, function well.

Which is what motivation is all about.

Organismic integration theory, which is a subtheory of self-determination theory, postulates that motivation is along a continuum (Brown & Ryan, 2015). There are six different types of motivation according to organismic integration theory.

The six types of motivation

You might think that you already know two of the types – intrinsic and extrinsic motivation – after reading the example at the beginning of the article.

That’s partly right.

Motivation lies on a spectrum – and more specifically, extrinsic motivation lies on a spectrum.

The six motivation types are:

• Amotivation
• Extrinsic motivation (external regulation)
• Extrinsic motivation (introjected regulation)
• Extrinsic motivation (identified regulation)
• Extrinsic motivation (integrated regulation)
• Intrinsic motivation

Amotivation: This is when there’s no motivation. It’s could be because the person finds no meaning in it, doesn’t feel skilled enough to do it (remember the competence factor?), or doesn’t expect there’ll be any result from in it (Brown & Ryan, 2015). There’s no sense of control, value, intention, or competence here.

Extrinsic motivation (external regulation): This is when the extrinsic motivation comes from a reward or a punishment – the proverbial carrot and stick. When we talk about extrinsic motivation, we’re usually thinking of this. The person’s behaviour is dependent on something external (hence, external regulation).

Extrinsic motivation (introjected regulation). Introjection means to subconsciously adopt someone else’s ideas or attitudes. This type of extrinsic motivation comes from one’s self-esteem. It’s when it comes from wanting a sense of pride or self-worth, or to avoid guilt, anxiety, or disapproval from others (Brown & Ryan, 2015).

Extrinsic motivation (identified regulation): This is when the extrinsic motivation comes from something that’s personally important. A person may act in a certain way because of their values or because they think it’s important. However, it’s not intrinsic motivation because they don’t behave in that way for its own sake, but because of their own values.

Extrinsic motivation (integrated regulation): This is when the extrinsic motivation is the closest to intrinsic motivation. The behaviour that arises is valued, meaningful, integrated with oneself, and aligned with values and goals (Brown & Ryan, 2015). The only difference with intrinsic motivation is that the behaviour is performed to lead to another outcome.

Intrinsic motivation: This is when one does the activity for its own sake – the inherent enjoyment and interest of the activity (Brown & Ryan, 2015). It’s the gold standard of motivation, and is linked to creativity, greater performance, and better psychological wellbeing.

Extrinsic motivation isn’t bad

Intrinsic motivation is what we all aspire to. But it requires autonomy, competence, and relatedness (Ryan & Deci, 2000). It also only applies to activities that have inherent interest or enjoyment – activities that provide novelty, have aesthetic value, or produce excitement (Brown & Ryan, 2015). It’s like the wagyu of motivation.

But wagyu is expensive. Likewise, intrinsic motivation is hard to cultivate.

And therefore, extrinsic motivation plays a big part in our lives. This is largely because we need to start adulting – spending time to pursue the goals and responsibilities that are the obligations of the social world we live in (Ryan, 1995) – and therefore, being driven by extrinsic motivation.

The key is to use multiple types of motivation to drive us to reap the benefits of them all.

For instance, let’s say there’s an article due that’s about motivation. There’s the intrinsic motivation of being interested in this topic – and there’s also the extrinsic motivation of wanting to be praised for it (remember there are different types of extrinsic motivation!).

It’s about harnessing both types of motivation, to benefit from the perks of intrinsic motivation while leveraging extrinsic motivation to create that drive to finish the essay.

You can somewhat see my motivations for finishing this article.

Motivation can be modified

In addition, one’s motivation can be shifted. Enhancing one’s autonomy, competence, and relatedness are all ways to shift the motivation towards intrinsic motivation (or at the very least, the identified regulation type of extrinsic motivation).

Motivation types are not fixed, and they can be changed.

Another way to push motivation towards the intrinsic motivation aspect is through mindfulness. However, that’s beyond the scope of today’s article.

Cultivating intrinsic motivation through in learning

Now that you know how to steer the motivation ship towards intrinsic motivation (remember, it’s about increasing autonomy, competence, relatedness, and mindfulness) – how can we apply this in learning design? Here are my tips.

1. Offer meaningful choices: Give different options for tasks, media, readings, partners, groups, sequence – basically, using gamification principles to create options. This elevates autonomy.

2. State the rationale upfront: Explain why you do everything, even if it means stopping to explain the reason for doing deep breathing exercises at the beginning of a class. If you know why you’re doing something, you’re more inclined to want to do it – raising your autonomy.

3. Acknowledge difficulty: If something is difficult, say it is. I knew a tuition centre who called their homework “Home Treats”, as if it were a desirable thing to do at home. I saw a student making puking faces once when I said “Home Treats”, and this made me realise how telling the truth increases relatedness.

4. Create scaffolds: Provide clues and support for learning tasks. Those who don’t need it will ignore it, but for those who need it – this can increase their competency so they can accomplish the learning task.

5. Take the time to talk: Getting to know your learners helps. This can be done through learning materials, when you ask them to write down their goals and preferences. Showing that you care increases relatedness.

6. Include glossaries and guides: If it’s a completely new topic, the jargon will be challenging to remember. Having footnotes and glossaries to make it easy to define terms improves the quality of understanding, thereby increasing competency.

He who has a strong enough why can bear any how

Motivation is powerful – but it’s the how. The type of motivation is the why – and it forms the foundation of wanting to do something.

Basically, motivation forms the architecture for your learning design.

By including autonomy, relatedness, competence – plus some mindfulness – into your learning materials, you get your learners to own the learning. They don’t dial it in (as much) anymore.

But when you can’t get intrinsic motivation, then use other types of motivation to magnify what’s there, and leverage it to get the benefits of sticky learning.

After all, isn’t it better when the learning is sticky?

You may also want to read:

• Brain hack: how mindfulness rewires your brain for efficiency
• The secret parallel between lessons and games: writing lessons like a game designer

References

Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2015). A self-determination theory perspective on fostering healthy self-regulation from within and without. In S. Joseph (Ed.), Positive psychology in practice: Promoting human flourishing in work, health, education, and everyday life (2nd ed., pp. 139–157). Wiley.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. Harper & Row.

Ryan, R. M. (1995). Psychological needs and the facilitation of integrative processes. Journal of Personality, 63, 397–427. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1995.tb00501.x

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55, 68–78. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68