
Intrinsic Motivation Doesn't Exist, Researcher Says (2005) - jimsojim
http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/inmotiv.htm
======
erikb
It is also a question I ask myself. I haven't found a single motivation in
myself that is not in some degree externally triggered. Even the fear of
losing respect of your equals (coworkers, friends, family), although maybe
just a fantasy in your head, can still be argued to be external.

~~~
Htsthbjig
"Even the fear of losing respect of your equals (coworkers, friends, family),
although maybe just a fantasy in your head, can still be argued to be
external."

How could that be? It is not maybe, it is a fantasy in your head.

This fantasy could be very similar to reality, so I prefer the word
"simulation", as this is what it is: you simulate the future in your head with
the knowledge you got in the past.

In the past you got trained like a Paulov dog about what society expected from
you, for example being raised as a catholic could mean sex with other people =
bad, liking money= bad,being humble=good, sharing=good, competing with
others=bad.

If you don't get out of your original society your prediction could be very
accurate, specially if you accept it without resistance.

In the past I faced all my environment(friends, family and lovers), but
instead of accepting it I fought it, and interesting enough they were the ones
who in the end accepted it.

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right.”H.Ford

------
brudgers
Paper[Related?]:
[https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Steven_Reiss2/publicati...](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Steven_Reiss2/publication/232454071_Multifaceted_Nature_of_Intrinsic_Motivation_The_Theory_of_16_Basic_Desires/links/549adc080cf2b80371371525.pdf)

Date: 2004

HN Wayback:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1423198](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=1423198)

------
Htsthbjig
“But there is no real evidence that intrinsic motivation even exists.”

Yes, there is.

I have a Labrador dog, every time she watches a puddle, she wants to get in.
Most Labrador dogs do the same with every source of water. I have not told my
dog to like water.

Dogs also respond naturally to bunnies in the field.

We are not that different from dogs. I need to know how things work
internally, I disassembled every electronic machine in my house when I was a
kid because I HAD TO KNOW how those things worked, and nobody told me to do
it, on the contrary I was punished by my parents as some of those did not come
back to live(until I learned to do it well).

No matter the punishment I will do it anyway because there was something
inside me that pushed me. I got so good that I will disassemble something and
nobody will notice.

I have met people that needed to dance, or paint, or play music or create no
matter how badly paid they were.

------
phphphph
Very misleading title. His points are roughly tl;dr:

\- Intrinsic vs. extrinsic is not sufficient to fully describe the range of
motivation

\- intrinsic isn't well-defined

\- Extrinsic can work well, too

\- It's not proven that intrinsic makes happier

------
digitalengineer
Daniel Pink wrote a great book about this called "Drive: The Surprising Truth
About What Motivates Us". Review:
[http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/218852](http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/218852)

------
quietplatypus
Is this just the lame philosophical trivia game where if you can name the
thing that motivates you, by definition it's not intrinsic?

Booooooooooooooooooooooring.

