White's Theory Of Intrinsic And Extrinsic Motivation

Register to read the introduction… The drive theories couldn’t explain the curiosity or desire to control the environment that was evident in the research of motivation. White’s theory of Effectance Motivation, which involves behavior characterized by curiosity, exploration and experimentation propelled by the feeling of efficacy that comes when one masters one’s environment, brought a shift in thinking regarding the ideas of motivation during that time (Harter, 1978). A lot of research has been done on effectance motivation in regards to intrinsic and extrinsic motivation orientation (Amabile, Hill, Hennessey, & Tighe, 1994; Boggianno & Barrett, 1985; Harter, 1978; 1981; Gottfried, 1985; 1990). Harter (1981) defined intrinsic academic motivation as the degree to which a child’s tendency to participate in classroom activities is driven by internal motivational factors (e.g., learning new things, new skills, etc.). Gottfried et al. (1998) defined it as “the performance of activities for their own sake in which pleasure is inherent in the activity itself” (p. 1448). Extrinsic Motivation on the other hand involves behaviors caused due to external factors such as rewards, praise etc. Intrinsic motivation is positively related to a child’s achievement, IQ and perceptions of competence (Cramer, …show more content…
One example is a study done by Steinberg, Lamborn, Dornbush, & Darling (1992) which found that for Asian Cultures Authoritarian Parenting and Academic Motivation exhibit a strong positive link; on the other hand, in the United States, Authoritative Parenting is more superior over Authoritarian Parenting in producing good academic performance in children. For this study, the researchers will have Filipino participants. The researchers’ study can help identify which parenting styles will improve, and on the other hand, which parenting styles will decrease a child’s academic motivation and academic performance particularly in the Filipino