PSYC 101
Essay 4: Topic: Motivation, Values and Purpose
Department of Psychology, Liberty University
PSYC 101: General Psychology
In life, everything we do from getting out of bed in the morning to accomplishing daily
tasks is accomplished through some type of motivation. According to George et. al. (2020),
motivation can be defined as the “conscious and unconscious forces that initiate and direct
behavior” and is used to explain things like “perseverance despite adversity, assign responsibility
for actions, and infer private states from public acts.”(p. 206). But when it comes to different
types of motivation, it can be broken down into two major categories: intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation. According to Frey et. al. (2002) , intrinsic motivation is when “the activity itself or
the corresponding end goal satisfies a direct need in its own right” (p. 12). What this means is
intrinsic motivation is motivation that comes from pure enjoyment of the activity, rather than
from an external incentive or reward, can also be worded as “self-motivation.” On the other end
of the spectrum, there is extrinsic motivation. Frey et. al. (2002) defines extrinsic motivation as
something that “serves to satisfy indirect or instrumental needs” (p. 12). Simply put, extrinsic
motivation is actions and behaviors driven by external rewards. Things like money, good grades,
medals, even praise and status are all examples of extrinsic motivators. When it comes to
choosing an occupation or career, I personally think that you should have more intrinsic
motivation than extrinsic motivation because it is usually a stronger predictor of job performance
and success in long run.
A great way to describe how values and purpose might inform one's experience with
motivation is through the Venn diagram on intersecting areas that compromise purpose from
chapter one. The diagram can be broken down firstly into “what you give the world and what the
world gives you” (George et. al., 2020, p. 4). and then further into things like passion, mission,
profession and vocation. All of these things provides insight into the purpose behind the things
Essay 4: Topic: Motivation, Values and Purpose
Department of Psychology, Liberty University
PSYC 101: General Psychology
In life, everything we do from getting out of bed in the morning to accomplishing daily
tasks is accomplished through some type of motivation. According to George et. al. (2020),
motivation can be defined as the “conscious and unconscious forces that initiate and direct
behavior” and is used to explain things like “perseverance despite adversity, assign responsibility
for actions, and infer private states from public acts.”(p. 206). But when it comes to different
types of motivation, it can be broken down into two major categories: intrinsic and extrinsic
motivation. According to Frey et. al. (2002) , intrinsic motivation is when “the activity itself or
the corresponding end goal satisfies a direct need in its own right” (p. 12). What this means is
intrinsic motivation is motivation that comes from pure enjoyment of the activity, rather than
from an external incentive or reward, can also be worded as “self-motivation.” On the other end
of the spectrum, there is extrinsic motivation. Frey et. al. (2002) defines extrinsic motivation as
something that “serves to satisfy indirect or instrumental needs” (p. 12). Simply put, extrinsic
motivation is actions and behaviors driven by external rewards. Things like money, good grades,
medals, even praise and status are all examples of extrinsic motivators. When it comes to
choosing an occupation or career, I personally think that you should have more intrinsic
motivation than extrinsic motivation because it is usually a stronger predictor of job performance
and success in long run.
A great way to describe how values and purpose might inform one's experience with
motivation is through the Venn diagram on intersecting areas that compromise purpose from
chapter one. The diagram can be broken down firstly into “what you give the world and what the
world gives you” (George et. al., 2020, p. 4). and then further into things like passion, mission,
profession and vocation. All of these things provides insight into the purpose behind the things
