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IB DP Psychology — Motivation | SL & HL | Paper 1
🎯 Learning Intentions By the end of this note, you will be able to:
- Define intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and self-determination theory using IB-aligned terminology.
- Explain how goal-setting theory operates as a motivational strategy for changing behaviour.
- Describe the role of self-efficacy in sustaining behavioural change over time.
- Evaluate research evidence for motivational strategies using supporting and opposing studies in ACAS format.
- Apply motivational strategy concepts to a real-world case study from cognitive and sociocultural perspectives.
- Discuss the extent to which motivational strategies provide a complete explanation of behaviour change.
- Analyse motivational strategies using relevant concept areas: Causality, Bias, Change, Perspective, and Responsibility.
Introduction & Context
Think about the last time you tried to change something about your own behaviour — perhaps starting a new exercise routine, cutting back on social media, or studying more consistently. You may have begun with genuine enthusiasm, only to find that motivation faded within days or weeks. This experience is almost universal, and it raises a genuinely interesting psychological question: why do some people sustain behavioural change while others abandon it so quickly?
Psychologists have long been interested in what drives people to act, persist, and change. The study of motivation — the internal and external forces that initiate, direct, and sustain behaviour — sits at the heart of understanding why people do what they do. More practically, understanding motivation allows psychologists, educators, health professionals, and coaches to design strategies that help people change their behaviour in meaningful and lasting ways.
This note explores the major theoretical frameworks and evidence-based strategies used to change behaviour through motivation. We will examine the distinction between different types of motivation, the role of goals and self-belief, and the social conditions that either support or undermine lasting change.
🔋 Analogy — The Battery of Behaviour Think of motivation as the battery that powers a device. Some batteries are rechargeable from within — they replenish when you use the device for something you genuinely enjoy. Others are disposable — they provide a burst of energy but run out once the reward is removed. Understanding what kind of battery is powering a behaviour tells you a great deal about how long that behaviour will last and how to sustain it.
Core Concepts
Before we can evaluate strategies for changing behaviour, we need to understand the distinction between two fundamentally different sources of motivation. Consider two students studying for an exam: one studies because they find the subject genuinely fascinating and want to understand it deeply; the other studies because they want to avoid punishment from their parents. Both are motivated — but the nature of that motivation is very different, and it has profound implications for how long the behaviour will continue.
📖 Key Definition — Intrinsic Motivation Intrinsic motivation refers to engaging in a behaviour because it is inherently interesting, enjoyable, or satisfying — the activity itself is the reward. The individual acts out of genuine interest, curiosity, or a sense of personal fulfilment rather than for any external outcome.
Intrinsically motivated behaviour tends to be self-sustaining. When someone is intrinsically motivated, they are more likely to persist in the face of difficulty, seek out challenges, and experience deeper engagement with the task. A student who reads psychology because they find human behaviour genuinely fascinating will continue reading even when no grade depends on it. The behaviour is maintained by the internal satisfaction it produces.
Intrinsic motivation is closely linked to