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Incentive Theory: Pull Theory of Motivation01:18

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Incentive theory, or the "pull theory" of motivation, suggests that external rewards primarily drive behavior. Individuals are motivated to engage in activities when they anticipate a desirable outcome. This is why people often work hard for promotions or study intensively to achieve high grades. These incentives can be tangible, physical rewards such as money or promotions, or intangible, non-physical rewards like praise and social recognition.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 11, 2025

Task Interruption and Resumption Paradigm for Testing the Activation and Pursuit of an Abstract Thinking Goal
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More direction but less freedom? How task rules affect intrinsic motivation.

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  • 1Department of Psychology, New York University.

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Task rules can enhance enjoyment by providing direction but may decrease it by limiting psychological freedom. This study explored the complex relationship between rules, motivation, and perceived freedom in writing tasks.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

  • Intrinsic motivation is crucial for engagement and performance.
  • Task rules are often perceived as constraints that may hinder motivation.
  • Understanding the nuanced effects of rules on motivation is essential for designing effective tasks.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how task rules influence intrinsic motivation in an open-ended writing activity.
  • To examine the mediating roles of sense of direction and psychological freedom.
  • To differentiate the effects of rules from mere examples.

Main Methods:

  • Four online experiments were conducted with student and adult participants (N=1,297).
  • Participants completed open-ended writing tasks under varying rule conditions.
  • Statistical analyses (indirect effects, d-statistics) were used to assess the impact of rules on enjoyment, direction, and freedom.

Main Results:

  • Task rules indirectly increased enjoyment by enhancing sense of direction.
  • Task rules indirectly decreased enjoyment by reducing psychological freedom.
  • Rules, unlike mere examples, significantly increased direction and decreased freedom.

Conclusions:

  • Task rules have a dual effect on intrinsic motivation, offering benefits through direction but drawbacks through reduced freedom.
  • The findings have implications for self-determination theory and flow theory in task design.
  • Further research is needed to identify moderators of these effects.