Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Rewards (and Their Differences from Motivations)

Greetings Dr. Wu,

I deeply enjoyed the clarity expressed in this blog series. Indeed, I've been trying to explain these concepts to my co-teachers in a Denver high school.

So, I have to questions for even greater clarity:

1. Does pushing ever more extrinsic motivation, or rewards, tend to reduce the person's intrinsic motivation to do the task? Does the person move their internal locos of joy to an external locus which is by definition less satisfying? I'm not sure I believe that the relationship is a 'given', and yet I know of various examples that could be explained this way.

2. Are there way in which to 'boost' intrinsic motivation? I presume the answer is yes, and yet, also presume it to be know. My rationale:

A. If we work to create an activity which meets our needs (as teachers), and also entails autonomy (choice of what to learn and how to learn it), mastery, (shows measurable progress [this is measured extrinsically], is performed by others in the classroom, (relatedness), and can be shown to lead to some other deeper meaning [recognizably extrinsic], can we shift the locus of motivation from outside the student to within?

B. People desire recognition (work behavior premise), yet recognition is by definition extrinsic. Is there a risk of recognizing intrinsically motivated behaviors leading to reduction in the behavior? [As such, relatedness, mastery, and purpose listed above are inextricably tied to things outside the body]

Thanks in advance for more engaging reading. I love your concepts and explanations.

Sincerely,

Terry Rosen