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Monday, March 20, 2006
Now, I finally managed to get the momentum to start writing for my Social Psychology journal!
Having learnt about intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation, I really cannot help but think:What is it that exactly motivates me? Am I one who is intrinsically motivated? Or am I one who is motivated by extrinsic, tangible rewards.
From the academic papers that I pored through that time before the test, I realised something very interesting. The definitions that were offered were so clear and distinct that it appeared that it's either you are one who's intrinsically motivated, or one who's extrinsically motivated. It's pretty much like an all-or-none thing. However, is there only black and white? Is there no room for gray? Well, I guess that in a moment everything will become clear. Intrinsically motivated behaviors are those in which there is no apparent reward except with the activity itself.
When I think of this question, "Why are you working so hard for? Why are you trying so hard to achieve a GPA of more than 3.7 each semester?" The answer to this is that I am an aspiring Investment Banker. I want to work for a bulge bracket investment bank ( SmithBarney, Goldman Sachs and the like). Why an investment banker then? Well, call me the material girl then. I drool over cars like the Lamborghini Gallardo, the Mercedes SL 550( upcoming in 2007),
fine jewelry (Tiffany and Co and the likes), nice clothes and fine dining etc. ;) But to me it does not seem so clear..What happens in between the time when I am studying till the time I get all the those stuff? There certainly is no Tiffany and Co ring as a reward when I do well for my exams. I'd still soldier on in the years to come, without all these tangible rewards. So, it might appear that I am intrinsically motivated now, the same conclusion might not be reached if one were to consider my ultimate goal. Therefore, the million dollar question is, can one say that a person is intrinsically motivated when the tangible rewards can probably be obtained a long time later? Every rational human knows that working hard does not necessarily mean that he'd make it big in life. But still he works hard for decades without enjoying the tangible rewards during that period.He might never enjoy them in fact. So where does that put us?
*| 3:08 AM |*
