Why Did You Do It?

Five Dollars Changes Things

Suppose someone offers you five dollars to walk around the block four times. You were not planning to go for a walk, but five dollars changes things. You put on your shoes and go. The next day, the same person asks you to do the same walk, but this time there is no five dollars. Would you still be as motivated to go? You might, but now we need to know more. The walking did not tell us why you did it the first time. The money did. A reward or benefit that comes from outside you is called external motivation. It gave you a reason to start. Take away the reward, though, and that particular reason is gone. A reward can get somebody started. It does not tell us what will make them want to continue. You may have discovered that you enjoyed being outside in the warm weather. Now you have another reason to go, even without the five dollars.

A Friend Gets You There

Now change the situation. A friend asks you to come shoot baskets at the park. Basketball was not your idea, but you go because you want to hang out. After a while, something changes. You like trying longer shots. You finally make one you have missed six times, and that feels pretty good. You laugh and have fun. Your friend was one reason you started, but enjoyment and satisfaction are now reasons too. Enjoyment or satisfaction that comes from doing the activity itself is called internal motivation. If it becomes strong enough, it may help keep you coming back. External and internal reasons can be there at the same time. One does not have to disappear when the other arrives. If your friend goes home, do you immediately leave too, or has the activity given you another reason to stay or come back tomorrow?

Try it: Someone joins an activity only because a friend asks them. Twenty minutes later, the friend leaves. What would you need to know before predicting whether they leave too?

Same Activity, Different Reason

Two people can be doing exactly the same activity for very different reasons. One student walks to school because a parent gives them a little extra allowance for doing it. Another walks because talking with a friend on the way is one of the best parts of the morning. A third likes arriving awake and ready for the day. From across the street, all three students simply look like they are walking. Their reasons are different, and those reasons matter because they affect whether the students want to keep doing it when something changes. Remove the allowance. The first student's reason has changed. The other two still have theirs. That does not tell us exactly what each student will do, but it gives us better information for explaining why participation might change.

Look Under the Action

Pick an activity someone your age might do, such as walking a dog, dancing, biking, playing tag, shooting hoops, skating or helping carry groceries home. Now give two people different reasons for doing the same thing. Perhaps one enjoys it while the other gets a reward or likes spending time with someone. Then change one reason. Remove the reward, have the friend stay home, or let the person discover that they actually enjoy the activity. What do you predict happens to each person's participation? Explain what changed underneath the action, not just what the person did. That is the useful part of understanding motivation. Seeing someone participate tells you what they are doing. To understand their motivation, you have to look for the reason or reasons that are helping get them there.

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