Intrinsic motivation. Everyone talks about it, and everyone has a rough definition.

To understand it properly, it's useful to put the concept into perspective.

In 1975, Edward Deci published "Intrinsic Motivation,” defending that the individual will be all the more motivated if his activity has not been imposed on him.

Over the next thirty years, Deci and Ryan developed this theory, refining the definition of the various concepts.

Intrinsic motivation is linked to the pleasure of action, the pleasure of doing ... for pleasure, without expecting anything else. On the other hand, extrinsic motivation is defined as a desire linked to the result of the action.

To a certain extent, intrinsic motivation can be associated with the concept of Flow proposed by psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi in 1975. This state of total immersion in action is a state of ultimate motivation. Time no longer exists, the body's feeling fades away, and the physical sensation disappears.

Like intrinsic motivation, flow can be likened to autotelism, meaning "self-fulfilling". It's acting with no aim other than the action itself. To a certain extent, we are close to Aristotle's Praxis.

In 2002, in addition to self-determination, the theory added two other basic psychological needs: the need for competence and the need for social relations.

Deci and Ryan also show that extrinsic motivation, which until then seemed to be opposed to the pleasure of intrinsic motivation, is more ambivalent than it seems.

Extrinsic motivation arises from expectations of the outcome of an action. This does not necessarily mean extrinsic motivation is unpleasant - quite the contrary.

Let's take the example of housework. There are several possible motivations for getting someone to clean the living room:

1. I clean because I like cleaning. It gives me time to think of nothing and everything at the same time.

2. I clean because I like my house to be clean and tidy.

3. I clean because I'm proud to show my family a beautiful home.

4. I clean because my parents are coming for dinner and I don't want them to make remarks.

5. I clean because my parents are coming for dinner and can't stand dust.

6. I don't clean. I don't like it. I don't feel like it. Anyway, nobody ever notices the difference.

Here we have five reasons to clean and one to do nothing.

The reason for doing nothing is called amotivation. It's the absence of a reason to take action. We can't find a good enough reason to act.

Next, on the types of motivation as defined by Deci and Ryan, we have :

1. Intrinsic motivation drives us to act for the pleasure of the action. Pleasure is intrinsic to action.

2. Extrinsic motivation with integrated regulation. The result gives me pleasure.

3. Extrinsic motivation with identified regulation. The result corresponds to my values.

4. Extrinsic motivation with introjected regulation. The result keeps me out of trouble.

5. Externally regulated extrinsic motivation. The result is required by someone else.

This multiplication of extrinsic motivations has made this concept much more complex to understand and explain. A new nomenclature has emerged, distinguishing between autonomous and controlled motivation.

1. Autonomous motivation includes
   1. Intrinsic motivation
   2. Extrinsic motivation with integrated regulation
   3. Extrinsic motivation with identified regulation

2. Controlled motivation includes
   1. Extrinsic motivation with introjected regulation
   2. Externally regulated extrinsic motivation.

Autonomous motivation can now be seen as expressing the desire to do things for oneself, either in the action itself (intrinsic) or in the result the action produces (extrinsic).