Intrinsic versus Extrinsic Rewards (Benefits): Some Thoughts
Quite a number of you are having difficulty sorting out the difference between INTRINSIC and EXTRINSIC rewards (benefits, incentives, etc.). Here are a few of my thoughts on the subject.
1. EXTRINSIC incentives are those that can be counted or otherwise measured (accounted for). They can include money, time off, trophies, medals and certificates, free food, a t-shirt. As you can see, each of these material items can be seen, counted, and assigned a measureable value.
2. INTRINSIC incentives cannot be counted, nor can they be easily measured. They are emotionally-based rewards that derive from having chosen a course of action. Generally speaking, there are four classes of intrinsic reward:
· Sense of Meaningfulness
· Sense of Choice
· Sense of Competence
· Sense of Progress
Notice the word sense that is associated with each of these: that tells you the link between things that are intrinsic and emotion.
Now, to say that intrinsic rewards cannot be measured is not completely accurate: we could measure them with adjectives: somewhat, very, not very, extremely… as in, “giving blood made me extremely happy!” But, my extremely and yours may not be the same thing, so it is really impossible to assign a fixed value to it. We might also measure intrinsic benefits in terms of utils, but utility is a very subjective measurement in the final analysis. I might gain a great deal of utility from studying in a university library five hours every night for six months – you, not so much, perhaps. And so, the subjectivity of intrinsic rewards makes them difficult to account.
The bottom line is that both extrinsic and intrinsic incentives motivate choice. The one can be measured, counted, put on a shelf or wall to be looked. The other, however, gains its value from inside the chooser, who assigns the value using a scale that is different for all of us.
When you choose to donate blood for your first semester project, you understand that there will be an extrinsic reward: a grade. You also know that you will get time out of the classroom – another extrinsic benefit. Yet another extrinsic benefit is the snack you are given, once you have donated. The rest, however – the sense of having done something valuable; the knowledge you gain; the feeling that you chose something noble to do; the sense that you helped make society better – these are all intrinsic.
Got it? Good.
Quite a number of you are having difficulty sorting out the difference between INTRINSIC and EXTRINSIC rewards (benefits, incentives, etc.). Here are a few of my thoughts on the subject.
1. EXTRINSIC incentives are those that can be counted or otherwise measured (accounted for). They can include money, time off, trophies, medals and certificates, free food, a t-shirt. As you can see, each of these material items can be seen, counted, and assigned a measureable value.
2. INTRINSIC incentives cannot be counted, nor can they be easily measured. They are emotionally-based rewards that derive from having chosen a course of action. Generally speaking, there are four classes of intrinsic reward:
· Sense of Meaningfulness
· Sense of Choice
· Sense of Competence
· Sense of Progress
Notice the word sense that is associated with each of these: that tells you the link between things that are intrinsic and emotion.
Now, to say that intrinsic rewards cannot be measured is not completely accurate: we could measure them with adjectives: somewhat, very, not very, extremely… as in, “giving blood made me extremely happy!” But, my extremely and yours may not be the same thing, so it is really impossible to assign a fixed value to it. We might also measure intrinsic benefits in terms of utils, but utility is a very subjective measurement in the final analysis. I might gain a great deal of utility from studying in a university library five hours every night for six months – you, not so much, perhaps. And so, the subjectivity of intrinsic rewards makes them difficult to account.
The bottom line is that both extrinsic and intrinsic incentives motivate choice. The one can be measured, counted, put on a shelf or wall to be looked. The other, however, gains its value from inside the chooser, who assigns the value using a scale that is different for all of us.
When you choose to donate blood for your first semester project, you understand that there will be an extrinsic reward: a grade. You also know that you will get time out of the classroom – another extrinsic benefit. Yet another extrinsic benefit is the snack you are given, once you have donated. The rest, however – the sense of having done something valuable; the knowledge you gain; the feeling that you chose something noble to do; the sense that you helped make society better – these are all intrinsic.
Got it? Good.