What is the definition of extrinsic and intrinsic rewards?
Why are they important to, and what is their role in, gamification?
What is the definition of extrinsic and intrinsic rewards?
Why are they important to, and what is their role in, gamification?
Intrinsic Rewards (motivation) These are rewards which are directly of value to the person, rather being something that represents (or could be "traded in") for something to of value.
So getting a badge in and of itself isn't an Intrinsic Reward, but up votes on an answer would be b/c it converts Status and Validation of the user's work. These rewards are also intrinsic to the task. They have not been "bolted on" or "dangled like a carrot" in front of the user.
Extrinsic Rewards (or incentives) are rewards which are not naturally a part of the task. So if you enjoy drawing and I compliment you on the drawing that's intrinsica. If I offer to pay you to draw more, that's extrinsic.
from this slideshow.
Extrinsic Incentives are demotivating and, thus, should be avoided in Gamifying a system There is a lot of research that shows that Extrinsic Rewards are demotivating because: They extinguish internal motivation
Result in Habituation, requiring higher levels of the External reward to achieve the same effects.
Send a message that you think they should not want to do this (why else would you need to bribe them)
Seem manipulative
Therefore, Extrinsic Rewards should be avoided. And if you find that your "players" are focused more on the game mechanics than the work then that's a clue that your game mechanics may be offering extrinsic motivation.
Intrinsic reward is the emotional pay-off that you get by completing an activity.
Extrinsic reward is everything else.
For example, In an real game, the sense of accomplishment that you get after completing a level is intrinsic, all the points and badges are extrinsic rewards.
Introducing Intrinsic rewards in gamification is not trivial, you have make the activity fun, memorable and truly satisfying.
Having said that, extrinsic reward can trigger intrinsic reward. For example, I will get a really great felling of having contributed something great to this site when you vote up on this answer!
According to Frederick Herzberg's two-factor theory of motivation,
intrinsic rewards are motivators (e.g. challenging work, recognition, responsibility) that give positive satisfaction,
while extrinsic rewards are hygiene factors (e.g. status, job security, salary, fringe benefits, work conditions) that prevent dissatisfaction.
Intrinsic rewards related to the job content (i.e. they are intrinsic to the job), while extrinsic rewards related to job context (they are extrinsic to the job).
Notes
1) In Herzberg's theory, satisfaction and dissatisfaction are not two extremes along one dimension, but two independent factors:
traditional theory:
dissatisfaction <------------------------------> satisfaction
Herzberg's theory:
no dissatisfaction |------------------------------> dissatisfaction
no satisfaction |------------------------------> satisfaction
2)
Intrinsic motivaton is caused by a intrinsic process ("I like doing this") or an internal self-concept ("I am the kind of person who does this").
Extrinsic motivation is instrumental ("I do this to achieva a goal"), caused by an external self-concept ("People expect me to do this"), or goal internalization ("I must do this for ").
Different terminology is listed here: http://www.uri.edu/research/lrc/scholl/webnotes/Motivation_Sources.htm
This discussion of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation covers most of what you are after.
A reward is intrinsic to an activity if it comes from doing the task itself. A reward is extrinsic if otherwise. The classic extrinsic reward is money. Classic intrinsic rewards are challenge and stimulation.
I feel that there is a misnomer here... a reward is a reward.
There are Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivators.
Intrinsic - The feel good motivation you get from within for accomplishing of completing a task. Because it felt good, you want to do more. This could be classified as a reward, but generally speaking an emotional response isn't necessarily a reward. Generally in Gamification a reward is a tangible or virtual gift given to the user for completing a task - an extrinsic component.
Extrinsic - An enticing benefit will be earned/granted if you complete the challenge/task so you follow through to completion to earn the gift. Extrinsic motivators are rewards. One is coaxed into finishing the task because of the reward, not the good feeling of accomplishment.
At the risk of pulling users away from this site, and plopping them down at the newly launched Gamification site, I thought I may post these questions here that directly relate to your question:
I will reuse what I posted on the Gamification site for this answer as it applies here as well. There is a great Ted talk on the "Puzzle of Motivation" by Dan Pink is available. It is a short talk, but it discusses this exact topic. I think you will find it enlightening.
Career analyst Dan Pink examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don't: Traditional rewards aren't always as effective as we think. Listen for illuminating stories — and maybe, a way forward.