Intrinsic motivation is the drive to perform an activity for the interest, satisfaction, or pleasure it generates in itself, not for external rewards or punishment avoidance. Intrinsically motivated tasks generate greater persistence, creativity, and well-being than extrinsically reinforced ones. Curiously, adding external rewards to already intrinsically motivated activities deteriorates them.
Concept origin
Deci and Ryan (1985) developed Self-Determination Theory (SDT), which identifies three basic psychological needs: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Satisfying these three needs is the condition for intrinsic motivation to emerge and be sustained. The "overjustification effect" (Lepper, 1973) documented the harm of external rewards.
Therapeutic approach
To cultivate intrinsic motivation: connect the task to personal values (SDT), design challenges calibrated to the current skill level (flow, Csikszentmihalyi), protect the sense of autonomy by giving choices about the how (not just the what), and celebrate incremental progress rather than the final result.
Related concepts
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