Motivation from control
Abstract
Human motivation is sensitive to value-to the outcomes of actions. People invest mental and physical resources for obtaining desired results or for stopping and reversing undesired ones. Accordingly, people's motivation is sensitive to information about their standing in relation to outcome attainment ('outcome feedback'). In this paper, we argue and present the first evidence for the existence of another motivational sensitivity in humans-a sensitivity to our degree of control on the environment and hence to information about that control ('control feedback'). We show that when actions have even trivial and constant perceptual effects, participants' motivation to perform is enhanced. We then show that increased motivation is not because more information about task performance is available and that motivation is increased only in conditions in which control over the effects can be firmly established by the mind. We speculate on the implications for understanding motivation, and potentially, physical and mental health.
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Human motivation is dependent on the perception that one's actions have effects on the environment.
“Along the same lines, Eitam, Kennedy, and Higgins (2013) demonstrated that human motivation is dependent on (the perception of) one's actions having effects on the environment.”
From Optimizing performance through intrinsic motivation and attention for learning: The OPTIMAL theory of motor learning (2016) · cites this paper as Eitam, Kennedy, and Higgins, 2013
Even if the effects of one's actions are trivial, intrinsic motivation is enhanced if the performer has control over those effects.
“Even if the effects of one's actions are trivial, intrinsic motivation is enhanced if the performer has control over those effects (termed Control Effect Motivation by Eitam et al.).”
From Optimizing performance through intrinsic motivation and attention for learning: The OPTIMAL theory of motor learning (2016) · cites this paper as Eitam et al., 2013
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- Authors
- Eitam, B., Kennedy, P. M., & Tory Higgins, E.
- Affiliations
- University of Haifa (IL)
- Columbia University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Eitam, Baruch
- ORCID
- Eitam, Baruch
- Venue
- Experimental Brain Research
- Published
- 2013-01-04
- Volume
- 229
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 475-484
- ISSN
- 0014-4819 (ISSN-L)
- 1432-1106
- OpenAlex
- W1971796508
- Cited by
- 141
- References
- 43
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 16 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 19 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 3.28
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Experimental Brain Research (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Public Health Service (39429)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Free Will and Agency
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Keywords
- motivation, perceived control, control feedback, outcome feedback, perceptual effects, task performance, cognitive effort
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Behavior, Feedback, Female, Humans, Male, Motivation, Reward, Task Performance and Analysis, Volition, Young Adult
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