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A review by inquiry_from_an_anti_library
Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
5.0
Is This An Overview?
Motivating others through extrinsic rewards and punishments is more complex than just providing benefits. The purpose of extrinsic motivation was to encouraging activities with rewards to get more of the wanted activities, while discouraging activities with punishment to get less of the activities. The problem is that extrinsic motivation has negative effects.
When extrinsic rewards are introduced, people lose their intrinsic interest in the activity. Rewards transform interesting tasks into drudgery, play transforms into work. Rewards diminish intrinsic motivation which harms performance, creativity, and appropriate behavior. Rewards provide a temporary productivity boost, at the cost of productivity after the boost.
Extrinsic rewards behave like an addiction, as they provide temporary happiness while needing larger rewards later to have the same effect. When rewarded, people do not do more than what gives them the reward. Rather than encourage wanted behavior, extrinsic motivation can encourage unwanted behavior. When rewarded for satisfying short term goals, goals imposed by others, extrinsic motivation can induce unethical behavior as people will seek to satisfy the goal with less regard to the consequences of the methods chosen.
Extrinsic motivation, such as money, is useful as a baseline reward. To pay people enough for money not to be part of their list of problems. Rewards can make algorithmic, routine tasks more productive, but hurt creative tasks. Rather than extrinsic motivation, people can be intrinsically motivated to find joy in what they do. Rather than restrict behavior, people can be intrinsically motived through their own autonomy.
Caveats?
A use for extrinsic motivation is to provide enough baseline rewards, but there is not enough information about baseline rewards. There is uncertainty about when baseline rewards become enough. There is also a social aspect to baseline rewards, as people can be affected by the rewards of others. The alternative methods to motivation have mixed qualities.
Motivating others through extrinsic rewards and punishments is more complex than just providing benefits. The purpose of extrinsic motivation was to encouraging activities with rewards to get more of the wanted activities, while discouraging activities with punishment to get less of the activities. The problem is that extrinsic motivation has negative effects.
When extrinsic rewards are introduced, people lose their intrinsic interest in the activity. Rewards transform interesting tasks into drudgery, play transforms into work. Rewards diminish intrinsic motivation which harms performance, creativity, and appropriate behavior. Rewards provide a temporary productivity boost, at the cost of productivity after the boost.
Extrinsic rewards behave like an addiction, as they provide temporary happiness while needing larger rewards later to have the same effect. When rewarded, people do not do more than what gives them the reward. Rather than encourage wanted behavior, extrinsic motivation can encourage unwanted behavior. When rewarded for satisfying short term goals, goals imposed by others, extrinsic motivation can induce unethical behavior as people will seek to satisfy the goal with less regard to the consequences of the methods chosen.
Extrinsic motivation, such as money, is useful as a baseline reward. To pay people enough for money not to be part of their list of problems. Rewards can make algorithmic, routine tasks more productive, but hurt creative tasks. Rather than extrinsic motivation, people can be intrinsically motivated to find joy in what they do. Rather than restrict behavior, people can be intrinsically motived through their own autonomy.
Caveats?
A use for extrinsic motivation is to provide enough baseline rewards, but there is not enough information about baseline rewards. There is uncertainty about when baseline rewards become enough. There is also a social aspect to baseline rewards, as people can be affected by the rewards of others. The alternative methods to motivation have mixed qualities.