# Intrinsic Motivation While reading about intrinsic motivation this week, I came across this interesting insight on Twitter/X about the difference between Indian, Japanese, and American cultures. I found it interesting because it made me wonder, is intrinsic motivation equal across all parts of the world, and do we favor the same kind of intrinsic motivation in all cultures that we do in the United States? Twitter user Will Spencer (@RenofMen) posted the following about India and Japan > As a poor country, India has a ethic called “jugaad,” which essentially translates to “make it work however you can.” This leads to very creative solutions to problems, at all levels. Also known as “hacks.” However, if your ONLY ethic is “make it work,” then once it works you’re done. You’ve fulfilled the ethic. “Good enough” is good enough. And everything in India is merely “good enough”… more or less. He continues explaining Japanese culture as different: > Japan, on the other hand, has an ethic of honor. Your performance in any given task reflects on your whole lineage. Consequently, almost everything in Japan is excellent. Streets are clean, buildings gleam, and you have to fight to have a bad meal.The basic idea is that you do an outstanding job for the virtue of doing an outstanding job. It’s the call of craftsmanship, independent of audience. If what Will is saying is true, then the idea of intrinsic motivation is different in India or Japan than it is here for us. Berkowitz states that "Cognitive-developmental theory sees children as rational, self-directed, and intrinsically trying to make meaning of the world in which they exist" (loc. 2827, 2021). Thus, we may think that what we experience is the same across the world, but our cultures certainly influence our intrinsic motivation to some extent. Will continues that America is essentially the middle ground between those two extremes. > The majority of people [In the USA] understand that you do a good job for the sake of doing a good job. There is a wrong way to do things, a right way to do things, and a more right way to do things. You might not realize it, but most people in America instinctively do things the “more right” way. What he is talking about is really intrinsic motivation. We do the more right way because that is what we value here in the States. What is fascinating is how educators over the last many years have started "educators are using methods that actually undermine their fundamental goal, namely nurturing the flourishing of goodness in students" (loc. 2841, Berkowitz, 2021). When it comes to [[intrinsic motivation]] you want kids to have it. When it comes to [[extrinsic motivation]], you want kids to not need it. Kohn (1994) states, > At least ten studies have shown that people offered a reward generally choose the easiest possible task (Kohn, 1993). In the absence of rewards, by contrast, children are inclined to pick tasks that are just beyond their current level of ability. ### References - Berkowitz, M. W. (2021). _PRIMED for character education: Six design principles for school improvement_ (Kindle ed). Routledge. - Kohn, A. (1994). The Risks of Rewards. _ERIC Digest_. - Spencer, W. (2023, September 24). [Twitter/X]. [https://x.com/RenOfMen/status/1706137020568101258?s=20](https://x.com/RenOfMen/status/1706137020568101258?s=20)