We, as educators, often teach students with an “if-then” mentality. Meaning, IF you can do this THEN you can have that, do that, etc. In Drive, Daniel Pink breaks down the ideas behind motivation and how we, as humans, are to be better motivated. He opens up a whole new toolbox, so that we teachers, can stop buying out candy stores or raiding dollar trees for stickers, pencils, or various other goodies. However, first, we need to understand the history of motivation. He explains that our earliest operation of motivation, Motivation 1.0, was derived from just the simple need to survive. These “biological urges” (pg. 16) would cause humans to roam around scrounging for food; and if a predator was lurking nearby, they would hide.
Once humans began more complex civilizations, their motivation evolved with their lifestyles. The era of “if-then” or carrots (rewards) and sticks (punishments) was then created, called Motivation 2.0. This “new operating system [actively] seeks rewards and avoids punishments” (pg. 16). Motivation 2.0 was in still in place until it was questioned and the theories behind it were tested in the twentieth century. Once the ideas behind what initiated our motivation began to be questioned, there were three main reasons as to why the “if-then” or carrot and stick theory could not be a cookie-cutter motivational tool for every situation.But why? Why does the carrot & stick theory not always work?
Well, there are three main conflicts:
127 our experts are availableright now
- How we organize what we do (pg. 20): it was noticed that time and time again, developers, doctors, artists, etc. were giving their services away for free in order to better their own skills. The motivation behind this could possibly be in order to seek an improvement in their earning ability elsewhere; or, possibly because they simply enjoy doing the task. They enjoy helping people, enrich lives, around them. This idea debunks the entire theory behind working for incentives, cash, or trophies. Instead, the motivation behind this “volunteer” work was seen to flow from the river of creativity and joy. This was a new concept: enjoyment-based motivation. People were working (for free) to better themselves and the world around them.
- How we think about what we do (pg. 24): we, as humans, are “predictably irrational” (pg. 25). The theory behind the rewards vs punishments does not seem to fit here, either, as it has all humans fitting “the same robotic wealth-maximizers” (pg. 26) mold. When in truth, we are just as likely to “leave lucrative jobs to take low-paying ones that provide a clearer sense of purpose” (pg. 26). Sometimes, people need more than just money. Sometimes, we need to feel a sense of purpose—a sense of pride—in what we choose to do and the why behind it.
- How we do what we do (pg. 27): much like our lives, our work and job force in general, have also evolved. We are not all fighting to get the same mundane, unchallenging, routine “factory type” jobs. Many jobs have become more complex with increased levels of growth, creativity, self-direction—just overall more interesting. These two basic job styles have been broken into two categories. Algorithmic (unchallenging) vs Heuristic (complex). An algorithmic approach favors the carrot and stick theory, while the heuristic approach better utilizes other motivation tools.
An algorithmic approach follows a set of established instructions. These situations will typically have a single pathway that leads to a single conclusion. This lack of creativity and critical thinking is what allows the carrot and stick theory to work. A heuristic approach encourages experimenting with vast possibilities. These situations will typically have several pathways available that lead to a plethora of conclusions. This abundance of creativity and critical thinking is what does not allow the carrot and stick theory to work. Using this carrot and stick, incentives, method was no longer a reliable tool for motivation. People are looking for more than just an award, reward, or trophy. If this incentive is all that is offered, it appears that more often than not, the bare minimum is all that will be done in order to meet these goals.
This “if-then” theory behind what motivates us, that had been proven to work SO well, all of a sudden was not. Even worse? Some of the end results were negative. Pink provides evidence of several studies that were created to test this, all having a similar result. “As it turned out, the people offered the medium-sized bonus didn’t perform any better than those offered the small one. And those in the super incentivized group? They fared worst of all” (pg. 39).
Further evidence that something needed to change:
- The power of being creative and enjoying a challenge cannot be overlooked and underestimate.
- Doing something good for others, for the sake of it is the right thing to do cannot be bought.
- Punishing people for doing their job incorrectly, only motivates them less to better themselves or their ability to complete the task at hand—they figure, why does it matter?
- Rewarding people for doing their job correctly, only motivates them less to better themselves or their ability to perform the task at hand—they are now bored with the same “prizes”.
- Most deadlines create cut corners, unsafe choices, and bare-minimum work. This way of “completing” work may look good today, but in time hurts the foundation of the job, lesson, or business.
The end decision? Our theory behind what motivates us needed an upgrade. This iOS was out of date and no longer reaching up to its potential.
Daniel Pink goes on to explain it is important to not ditch the carrot and stick theory altogether, but to remember when to utilize it. He also brings up a new simple opposite to the “if-then” reward, called the “now that” reward (pg. 64). The difference? “If-then” rewards are if you finish, then you get the reward. “Now that” rewards carry on with now that you have finished your project, we should celebrate by going out to eat dinner. He gives a simple way to remember when to use either. For left-brain, analytical and algorithmic tasks, the “if-then” rewards may continue to work wonders. For right-brain, creative and heuristic tasks, “now that” rewards providing “praise, feedback, and useful information” (pg. 66) may be best.
With these changes steadily afoot, Pink quickly compares old ideology to new; through the self-determination theory (SDT) and Type X & I. SDT promotes the human beings’ needs to be human. SDT strongly encourages situations to be interesting and supports creativity. We are reminded that our species is yearns to be autonomous, while still holding the ability to remain linked to one another. Many times, when we are allowed to use our own inner drive, our own creativity, be our own leaders—that is all of the motivation we need to complete any task given to us.
“When people use rewards to motivate, that’s when they’re the most demotivating” (pg. 70). Type X: inner drive operated by “extrinsic desires” (pg. 75). This is characterized by completing a task only to receive an award or to avoid a punishment. Type I: inner drive operated by “intrinsic desires” (pg. 75). This is characterized by completing a task because you find it interesting or otherwise enjoyable.
Spoiler alert!
- Type I choices tend to keep a healthier body and sound mind
- Type I choices tend to often surpass Type X choices
- Type I choices happily accept paychecks, but do not use the paycheck as motivation
- Type I choices is seen to be a renewable motivational resource
- Type I choices can be made by anyone
Autonomy: “A sense of autonomy has a powerful effect on individual performance and attitude” (pg. 88). Work should hold our interest, our passion, there should be some joy there. When a software company in Australia allow their engineers to have one day, 24 hours, a quarter to work on whatever they want, magic happens. They have bug fixes, new codes drawn up, find new hacks, etc. The only catch is that in 26 hours they better be ready to show-off their work at a meeting. However, this is a celebratory meeting fixed up with cake and beer. This magic is made possible by this Australian company realizing that people work better when you take the horse blinders off. When you allow people to have a little “control over their task, their time, their technique, and their team is the most effective pathway to that destination” “People want to be held accountable” (pg. 105). The possibilities become endless when you allow creativity and self-determination (SDT) to come out.
Mastery: “Control leads to compliance; autonomy leads to engagement. And this distinction leads to the second element: Mastery—the desire to get better and better at something that matters” (pg. 108-109). Once a little sense of autonomy is allowed to surface, mastery is another trait that will naturally motivate us. If we feel we have a little control over our own work, we can self-differentiate our approach.
Of course, tasks are differentiated in order to not be above our personal capabilities, thus creating anxiety; or below our capabilities, thus creating boredom. This is where we will find our “Goldilocks” (pg. 117) work zone. This “just right” (pg. 117) zone is the ideal place to begin work because it is here where we will find our own way to become really good at something. The satisfaction of seeing results only continues to motivate us to push on. This is not to say that mastering anything will be easy, in fact, quite the opposite. “Setbacks [are] inevitable on the road to mastery and that they [can] even be guideposts for the journey” (pg. 121). The final trick to mastery is to know that no one can ever actually master anything. There is always something more—just like in life, we all may learn something new each day!
Purpose: “The most deeply motivated people—not to mention those who are most productive and satisfied—hitch their desires to a cause larger than themselves” (pg. 131). As we have learned from this book, we, as humans, want to be human. We want to be profoundly involved with what we do and who we do it around. We want to benefit others around us. We want to leave this world a better place. Any educator in here can attest to this—this is what we choose to do every day. There is passion behind what you do. This passion helps to you interested and engaged. Being passionate, interested, and engaged leads to further motivation.
The end “goal is [always] to pursue purpose” (pg. 135); as a purpose helps lead to happiness. By having a better understanding on how motivation ins created, you now have all of the tools to help encourage and forge motivation for ANY student in ANY classroom. You know how to appropriately utilize “if-then” incentives. You know how to appropriately utilize “now that” incentives. You understand the natural effects of self-determination, creativity, and purpose have on our inner drive.
Toolbox: Apply the A.M.P. Type I traits within your assignments. Be sure to ask yourself what the students will get from this assignment. How do they benefit? Allow them time to come up with their own problem and solution. Let them collaborate in small groups, and create their own presentation. This also allows them to help teach their peers about something new. Following activities like this, where they take their own lead (within reason), follow-up by asking them to reflect on their reports. Encourage them to elaborate further, what would they like to learn next? Help them to create their own goals. Always explain the why. Let them know the importance, or the purpose, behind the lesson. Please remember to praise the process and progress—not the product.
