Motivation is at the center of biological, cognitive and social regulation, and its importance lies in the consequences of the actions its promotes (Ryan and Deci, 2000). Motivation is of primary concern to anyone in a teaching or managerial position because it is what makes other people react. There are many different reasons that people are motivated to learn or perform requested tasks. These can be external rewards such as money or material rewards, or internal rewards such as inner satisfaction and gratification. They can also be to avoid negative consequences: people may obey orders which they do not necessarily agree with out of fear of retribution such as being excluded from certain opportunities or being shunned or physically harmed.
Many theories of motivation have been explored by psychologists over the years. Self-determination theory (SDT) is based on the importance of a personÆs evolved inner resources for personality development and the regulation of oneÆs behavior (Ryan and Deci, 2000). SDT explains a personÆs motivation to fill their own inner needs. According to SDT, three psychological needs must be met for intrinsic motivation to occur: autonomy, relatedness, and competence (Sheldon and Kasser, 2001). People have the basic need to feel free and uncoerced in their behavior, but close to important others in their behavior, and competent in carrying out this behavior. Though SDT initially divided motivation simply into intrinsic and extrinsic types, more recently extrinsic motivation has been further subdivided into three types: external - to get rewards or avoid punishment; introjected - to avoid self-imposed guilt or anxiety; and identified - acting in accordance with felt personal values.
A subtheory of SDT, cognitive evaluation theory (CET) encompasses environmental factors which facilitate intrinsic motivation (Ryan and Deci, 2000). It focuses on the fundamental need of humans for autonomy...