Intrinsic motivation and extrinsic incentives jointly predict performance: a 40-year meta-analysis.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Meta-analysis of 183 studies across school, work, and physical domains (by design analogy, non-clinical).
PubMed 24491020 · doi:10.1037/a0035661
What was done
A random-effects meta-analysis synthesizing research from school, work, and physical domains across 183 studies (N = 212,468) spanning 40 years. The authors evaluated the joint relationships among intrinsic motivation, extrinsic incentives, and performance, assessing two moderators: performance type (quality vs. quantity) and incentive contingency (directly vs. indirectly performance-salient).
What was found
Intrinsic motivation was a medium to strong predictor of performance (ρ = .21 to .45) and retained predictive validity whether incentives were presented or not. Incentive salience moderated this relationship: intrinsic motivation was less predictive when incentives were directly tied to performance (crowding out) and more predictive when incentives were indirectly tied. In simultaneous meta-analytic regression, intrinsic motivation predicted more unique variance in performance quality, whereas extrinsic incentives better predicted performance quantity.
Why it matters
This review demonstrates that intrinsic motivation and extrinsic incentives are not necessarily antagonistic, showing they function complementarily to influence different aspects of performance (quality vs. quantity).
Limits
The findings are limited to performance metrics, leaving nonperformance outcomes (e.g., well-being, job satisfaction) unmeasured. The abstract does not break down the study designs included (e.g., experimental vs. observational) or potential domain-specific biases.
Cited by
- supports Self-control and task performance are enhanced when an individual is intrinsically motivated rather than exclusively externally motivated.
- context Extrinsic rewards undermine and contaminate intrinsic motivation.