Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

Teachers can often readily identify students who demonstrate high or low motivation in a certain task. Motivated students engage in the task with intensity and feeling, whereas unmotivated students procrastinate and indicate in other ways that they would rather do something else. These differences exemplify the quantitative dimension of motivation, ranging from high to low. Teachers can often also identify highly motivated students who engage in tasks in different ways. Some may attempt to finish the task quickly, while others may seek more information. Some may persist, while others may begin enthusiastically but give-up when they encounter difficulty. These differences reflect the qualitative dimension of motivation. The distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation has been one of the important theoretical conceptualizations of qualitative differences in engagement.