Theories of Motivation

What exactly is motivation? Ormrod (2011) states, "Motivation is something that energizes, directs, and sustains behavior; it gets students moving, points them in a particular direction, and keeps them going" (p. 362). When I think of motivation, I think about what it is that makes me want to do something or is making me stick with a task. The types of motivation that are most instructive in my life are extrinsic and intrinsic, as well as the sociocultural theory of motivation.

I am extrinsically motivated when outside, unrelated factors are motivating me to perform a task. For example, I can think back to class review games, in which my teacher would reward the winning team with extra credit points on our exams. By being provided with an external reward, I was motivated to actively participate and succeed in the task at hand. Extrinsic motivators, like rewards and good grades,  can be enticing to students and encourage them to perform as a means to an end.

Intrinsic motivation comes when I, myself am motivated to do something without outside factors influencing me. For instance, I am motivated to volunteer with children's ministries simply because I find pleasure in working with this age group. Therefore, when I find a classroom task to be enjoyable and intriguing to me, that is all the motivation I need to complete it. An article I found, Several Ways To Engage Students Without Carrots & Sticks, highlights several ways in which teachers can help tap into student's intrinsic motivation. Some examples of how this could be included in my classroom are the following: build strong, secure relationships with my students and help them to know that their learning is most important, provide opportunities for children to have a choice and make decisions in their learning, and incorporate the student's interests into my curriculum to create relevancy.

The sociocultural theory also explains aspects of my motivation as, "Many aspects of motivation are the result of social and cultural factors, such as the norms for behavior that parents, peers, and others communicate and encourage" (Ormrod, 2011, p. 363). As a child, I worked hard in school to receive good grades to meet the approval of my parents. However, the importance and act of doing well in school eventually became an internalized behavior, without any pressure from my parents to do so. This enhances motivation as initially a child may be doing something because of the expectations of others, but over time, the child may see the importance of the task and become intrinsically motivated.


Ormrod, J.E. (2011). Educational psychology: Developing learners. (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson  
         Education, Inc.