Extrinsic motivation is a common type of motivation, but doesn’t usually work as well as people expect it to. It relates to motivation coming from the outcome you want to achieve[iv]. It’s event-oriented, focused on the reward at the end of the road.
Competition is an example of extrinsic motivation. You don’t compete for the sake of performing the activity (say, playing tennis), but to win the competition and receive a trophy.
Extrinsic motivation can be either about external rewards or punishments. In the most classic example, a student gets a good grade for performing well on a test and a bad grade when failing it.
When applied to exercise, reward-oriented extrinsic motivation can take the form of:
- your weight (a number on the scales can be surprisingly rewarding);
- waist circumference;
- status (bragging rights, inciting envy);
- drawing the attention of others (a person losing weight to attract a potential sexual partner);
- the “cool factor” (something – like yoga – is trendy and you want to be a part of it).
Punishment-oriented extrinsic motivation can take the form of:
- avoiding diseases related to obesity and/or a sedentary lifestyle;
- avoiding the pain of fat shaming;
- giving in to the pressure of a family member, friend, or colleague;
- losing a job opportunity;
- accountability (e.g. a $500 bet to lose x pounds).
For most people, extrinsic motivation is the primary source of motivation to start exercising. They either want to look good naked, avoid the pain of being “that” guy or gal, or because they want to impress others (say, at a high school reunion).
A good example of extrinsic motivation is accountability (discussed later). It can work wonders to introduce a regular habit of exercise when it’s designed the right way.
Other ways to motivate yourself externally, like achieving status or avoiding diseases, are less effective. In the first case – doing something to gain status – the first obstacle will most likely make your motivation vanish. In the second case – avoiding diseases – it’s usually too difficult to keep visualizing the potential risks of not exercising unless you’ve received a serious warning from your doctor. Unfortunately, extrinsic motivation only lasts as long as the reward is there or the threat of the punishment is real. The moment you achieve your ideal weight is usually the moment you lose motivation to keep exercising. After all, you’ve achieved your goal.
Moreover, research shows that extrinsic motivation is generally a poor source of inspiration.
A 2005 study on extrinsic and intrinsic motivators shows that extrinsic motivation led to poorer job performance than intrinsic motivation[v].
Another analysis in 2012 of over 200,000 U.S. public sector employees showed that using money as a motivator was less effective than using a passion or a challenge[vi]. In this analysis, intrinsic motivation was three times better than extrinsic motivation
Alternately, from the realm of weight loss, a 2012 study on financial incentives for weight loss has shown that small financial incentives for weight loss ($5.00 per percentage of initial weight lost) didn’t increase motivation, while autonomous motivation (doing something out of your own will to better yourself) was consistently associated with greater weight losses[vii].
Does this mean that extrinsic motivation is useless? Not necessarily. It can’t stand on its own legs, but it can be used in addition to intrinsic and/or prosocial motivation.
If you want to use extrinsic motivation to inspire yourself to keep going, it’s better to focus on things that matter a lot to you. If you’re obsessed with sports cars and you promised yourself you’ll buy a new Porsche once you lose 30 pounds, this type of extrinsic motivation will be stronger than buying a new car just because you think you’ll impress someone with it. Still, you should use this type of motivation as an additional motivator, not the only one.