My first motivation for college was to make money and have a job that will support me and allow me to have a good living. As I continue my education, going into my second semester, I have maintained the same mindset. My main goal and motivation as a college student is to get good grades and earn a degree that will allow me to get a good job.
After watching Mr. Pink and listening to the research that he has done and the results that came about, I was very surprised. I have always thought that if you rewarded someone, their performance would be a lot better. But after listening to Mr. Pink, I have changed my mind completely about that. The results of the researches that were done to see how a reward would affect the performance of people suggest that if someone is offered a reward, they do a lot poorer than if they were not.
It is very hard to believe this because it almost seems completely backwards to me, but I have ultimately been convinced that it is true. My whole life I have thought different and this has truly been an eye opener to me and I now think a lot differently when it comes to motivation and how people are motivated.
Like you, a significant amount of my motivation to go to college was to get a degree that would allow me to get a good job and support myself. Having enough money to live is a practical concern for everyone. My family just expected me to go to college, so that's another reason I went. It is really counterintuitive that sometimes people perform worse when offered a big reward! It took a while for that concept to sink in for me, too.Money is necessary to live. If life didn't require money, we could all just pursue activities that are instrinsically rewarding. The research shows that people are most motivated when their either offered a big reward for doing simple tasks or a somewhat small reward for doing complex, instrinsically rewarding tasks that require creativity. Since most higher-paying jobs require creativity, that's an issue :( It sounds like this is your first year at UNCC. I wish you luck in your studies and hope you end up happy.
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