Effects of intrinsic vs. extrinsic job orientation and reported anxiety under different task conditions.

Identified 192 male undergraduates, 96 intrinsically oriented (IO) and 96 extrinsically oriented (EO). Each group was divided into 4 comparable subgroups. 2 of the subgroups attempted to solve 40 simple anagrams, 1 alone and 1 observed, while the other 2 worked on 30 difficult anagrams under the same 2 conditions. Each of the 8 subgroups was further dichotomized into 12 low and 12 high anxious Ss. The experiment involved a 2 (IO vs. EO) * 2 (low vs. high anxiety) * 2 (alone vs. observed) * 2 (simple vs. difficult problems) analysis of variance design. Results show that low anxious EO Ss performed better than high anxious EO Ss in all conditions, while the low anxious IO Ss performed better than the high anxious IO Ss only in the alone simple task condition. No significant differences were found with regard to satisfaction. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A new self-report scale of intrinsic versus extrinsic orientation in the classroom: Motivational and informational components.

Describes a learning orientation scale in which 5 dimensions are defined by an intrinsic and an extrinsic pole: preference for challenge vs preference for easy work, curiosity/interest vs teacher approval, independent mastery attempts vs dependence on the teacher, independent judgment vs reliance on the teacher's judgment, and internal vs external criteria for success/failure. The reliability and factorial validity of the scale have been adequately demonstrated. Additional validity studies with a total of 2,925 Ss in Grades 3–9 are reported. Higher-order factoring yielded 2 distinct clusters of subscales: The 1st 3 dimensions form 1 factor and are interpreted as more motivational in nature; the remaining 2 are viewed as more cognitive–informational in nature. Developmental data show that across Grades 3–9 there was a shift from intrinsic to extrinsic on the 1st motivational cluster. Conversely, there was a dramatic developmental shift from extrinsic to intrinsic on the cognitive–informational cluster. Interpretations for these developmental differences are advanced, and the educational implications are explored. The discussion focuses on the need to be precise in conceptualizing and operationalizing the term "intrinsic motivation." (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Increasing intrinsic interest with superfluous extrinsic constraints.

When people are given extrinsic reasons not to perform an activity they had little interest in to begin with, intrinsic interest in the activity may increase. It is argued that this is an overjustification phenomenon. In Study 1, 31 children (aged 4.1–8.6 yrs) were told that they could not play with an unattractive toy motorcycle. Control Ss were allowed to play with whatever toy they chose, although few played with the motorcycle. Ss told not to play with the motorcycle showed more interest in this toy at a 2nd session with a different experimenter than did controls. In Study 2, 19 undergraduates were given either a severe threat, mild threat, or no threat not to cheat in a situation in which there was minimal motivation to cheat. Ss in the threat conditions were significantly more likely to cheat on an intelligence test several days later in a different setting. Alternative explanations for these findings (e.g., reactance) are considered, and the implications of the use of superfluous extrinsic controls are discussed. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of extrinsic financial rewards on intrinsic motivation.

Utilized a chess-problem task to evaluate E. L. Deci's hypothesis that contingent extrinsic rewards will decrease intrinsic motivation. After observing the amount of time 28 undergraduates spent working on the task in a free period, one group was offered a financial incentive for performing the task while another group was not. One week later, Ss were again observed in a free period and then performed the task again with no financial incentive. Results support the hypothesis, and data that rule out specific methodological criticisms of Deci's paradigm are presented. Findings are discussed in terms of whether extrinsic rewards and motivation interact with intrinsic motivation. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of job characteristics to job involvement, satisfaction, and intrinsic motivation.

Administered questionnaires to 291 scientists working in research and development laboratories. Results of a factor analysis indicate that job-involvement attitudes, higher order need-satisfaction attitudes, and intrinsic-motivation attitudes should be thought of as separate and distinct kinds of attitudes toward a job. These 3 types of attitudes related differentially to job design factors and to job behavior. Satisfaction proved to be related to such job characteristics as the amount of control the job allowed the holder and the degree to which it is seen to be relevant to the holder's valued abilities. Satisfaction was not related to either self-rated effort or performance. Job involvement, like satisfaction, bore a significant relationship to certain job characteristics; unlike satisfaction, however, involvement was positively related to self-rated effort. Intrinsic motivation was less strongly related to the job characterisitcs measured, but was more strongly related to both effort and performance than was either satisfaction or involvement. (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychoanalysis and Psychodynamics.

W. S. Taylor's ("Psychoanalysis revised or psychodynamics developed?" American Psychologist, 1962, 17, 784-788, see record 1963-05882-001) polemic may be assessed against the background provided by Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions as conveniently reviewed by Gillispie (1962) in a recent issue of Science. The present author comments that Taylor fails to see that psychoanalysis is a relatively coherent system of theories rather than an accumulation of the various theories that Taylor says had been put forward by others, sometimes centuries earlier. A major part of his misapprehension is his overlooking the fact that psychoanalysis is primarily a method of research rather than the body of theories that happen, at the present time, to be based on following that method (for a recent discussion of psychoanalysis as a scientific method, see Ramzy, 1962). More important, however, he adopts an either-or attitude, "Psychoanalysis Revised or Psychodynamics Developed," that is quite unnecessary. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interactions of task challenge and intrinsic and extrinsic motivations in college achievement.

Examined effects of 3 levels each of personal intrinsic and extrinsic motivational dispositions on grade point average (GPA) in college freshman courses rated by the 188 students as their most and least challenging. Extrinsic motivation was related to GPA by an inverted-U function, and the linear correlation coefficient was significant (p     

The Work Preference Inventory: Assessing intrinsic and extrinsic motivational orientations.

The Work Preference Inventory (WPI) is designed to assess individual differences in intrinsic and extrinsic motivational orientations. Both the college student and the working adult versions aim to capture the major elements of intrinsic motivation (self-determination, competence, task involvement, curiosity, enjoyment, and interest) and extrinsic motivation (concerns with competition, evaluation, recognition, money or other tangible incentives, and constraint by others). The instrument is scored on two primary scales, each subdivided into 2 secondary scales. The WPI has meaningful factor structures, adequate internal consistency, good short-term test-retest reliability, and good longer term stability. Moreover, WPI scores are related in meaningful ways to other questionnaire and behavioral measures of motivation, as well as personality characteristics, attitudes, and behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intrinsic and extrinsic job motivations among different segments of the working population.

A selected cross-section of the working population (N = 692) was interviewed with respect to job motivations. The extent to which extrinsic or intrinsic job components were valued was found to be related to occupational level. At higher occupational levels, intrinsic job components (opportunity for self-expression, interest-value of work, etc.) were more valued. At lower occupational levels, extrinsic job components (pay, security, etc.) were more valued. No sex differences were found in the value placed on intrinsic or extrinsic factors in general. However, women placed a higher value on "good co-workers" than did men, while men placed a relatively higher value on the opportunity to use their talent or skill. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychodynamics and the unconscious.

The original New Look integrated the constructivist-psychodynamic traditions of F. C. Bartlett and Freud. The unconscious (A. G. Greenwald's "New Look 3"; see record 1992-33868-001) is a logically different idea, although in practice it is often intertwined with constructivist-psychodynamic approaches. The unconscious is a pretheoretic term with a variety of problems: It has multiple and unsettled meanings; null reports need not signify null awareness; the conscious–unconscious dichotomy implied by the limen may not exist; even "absolute subliminality" (chance-level accessibility) is relative to the time interval of testing, as accessibility can increase to above-chance levels over time (hypermnesia). Yet, the phenomena that the unconscious sloppily subsumes are not simple or dumb. The capacity of subliminal perception should not be confused with the capacity of subliminal (unconscious) memory and cognition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of sex and professional training area to job orientation.

Examined indications that differences in job orientation may be more closely related to professional interests as reflected in one's professional training area than to differences in sex. 175 university students subgrouped into male business majors, female business majors, and female psychology majors rated the importance of 25 job characteristics comprising 3 job orientation dimensions--long-term career objectives, comfortable working environment and pleasant interpersonal relationships, and intrinsic job aspects. Male and female business majors differed significantly on the comfortable working environment and pleasant interpersonal relationships dimension, but business majors, regardless of sex, differed significantly from female psychology majors on all 3 dimensions, thus supporting the use of professional training area as a control variable in research related to sex differences in job orientation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of worker orientation differences on job attitude correlates.

Investigated correlations between various worker attitudes and job motivation, performance, and absenteeism for 290 skilled and semiskilled papermakers. The hypothesis that significant relationships occur more frequently for those employees who are least job involved was supported, inasmuch as they accounted for 84% of the significant correlations. Further analyses disclosed twice as many associations for skilled as for semiskilled employees. Thus, highly involved employees, more intrinsically oriented toward their job, did not manifest satisfactions commensurate with company evaluations of performance; they depended more on intrinsic rewards. Employees more detached from the job itself were more extrinsic in orientation and experienced gratifications more in line with company performance assessments due to their greater dependence on extrinsic rewards. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychodynamics of postpartum depression.

Although there are numerous articles and books about postpartum depression, few are psychoanalytically informed, and the psychodynamics of women suffering from postpartum depression are overlooked in most of these publications. Psychoanalytic reports concerning postpartum depression are few, but clinical experience and the literature suggest that a triad of three common, specific emotional conflicts is typical of many women who develop postpartum depression. For simplicity, these are dependency conflicts, anger conflicts, and motherhood conflicts. The dependency conflicts typically have a counterdependent form, the conflicts over anger characteristically include a great deal of guilt and inhibition, and there are often problematic identifications with the woman's own mother (and father) with associated conflicts about motherhood. The frequent counterdependent attitude tends to limit participation in extensive psychotherapy, contributing to the paucity of psychoanalytic contributions on this subject. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation.

A meta-analysis of 128 studies examined the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. As predicted, engagement-contingent, completion-contingent, and performance-contingent rewards significantly undermined free-choice intrinsic motivation (d?=?–0.40, –0.36, and –0.28, respectively), as did all rewards, all tangible rewards, and all expected rewards. Engagement-contingent and completion-contingent rewards also significantly undermined self-reported interest (d?=?–0.15, and –0.17), as did all tangible rewards and all expected rewards. Positive feedback enhanced both free-choice behavior (d?=?0.33) and self-reported interest (d?=?0.31). Tangible rewards tended to be more detrimental for children than college students, and verbal rewards tended to be less enhancing for children than college students. The authors review 4 previous meta-analyses of this literature and detail how this study's methods, analyses, and results differed from the previous ones. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of goal orientation on job search and reemployment: A field experiment among unemployed job seekers.

Because unemployment has detrimental effects on the well-being of unemployed people, it is important that unemployed individuals move back to work. The present study aimed at improving the understanding of the job search and reemployment process by applying goal orientation theory to job seeking. Using a 3-group field experimental design among 109 unemployed job seekers, the authors examined the effects of situational learning and performance goal orientation on participants’ job search intentions, job search behavior, and reemployment status. A situational focus on learning goals was found to be beneficial for the job search process, leading to more search intentions, more search behavior, and higher reemployment probabilities. These effects seemed to be independent of people’s dispositional goal orientation. Findings indicate that goal orientation is a promising construct for both science and practice in the field of job seeking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Optical investigations of physiology: a study of intrinsic and extrinsic biomedical contrast

The utility and performance of optical studies of tissue depends upon the contrast and the changes of contrast in health and disease and in functional activity. The contrast is determined both by the optical properties of extrinsic chromophores and scatterers but especially upon the changes evoked by physiological activity and pathological states. Here, we have focused upon absorption changes of the intrinsic probe, blood absorbance changes due to cortical hypoxia and to haematomas, giving, for particular conditions, absorbance changes of 0.15 and over 0.4 delta OD, respectively. Functional activity may give changes of blood volume of over 0.05 delta OD with some variability due to individual responses that is best expressed as histogram displays of the distribution of response among a significant population. Responses have been observed in prefrontal parietal and occipital functions (242 tests). Extrinsic probes afford signals dependent upon the dose tolerance of the subject and can readily equal or exceed the blood volume and oxygenation signals, and currently afford vascular volume and flow indications. However, contrast agents for the functional activity of cellular function are ultimately to be expected. Finally, light-scattering changes afford osmolyte-related responses and are here shown to indicate a larger signal attributed to cortical depolarization and K+ release in hypoxia/ischaemia. Thus, the optical method affords imaging of manifold contrasts that greatly enhance its specificity and sensitivity for diagnostic procedures.