Interpersonal Motivation

In addition to individual factors in motivation, there are other factors that arise from interactions with other people.

Competition is one of these interpersonal factors. Competition motivates behavior because people can enhance their own self-esteem when they are able to make comparisons of their own performance to that of others. While all learners appear to be motivated to some extent by competition, the importance of competition is greater for some learners than for others. These differences are often related to the person's previous experience or to the importance that cultures or subcultures place on competition versus cooperation. A detailed discussion of the role of competition in education can be found in Rich & DeVitis (1992). An argument against the use of competition in schools can be found in Kohn (1986).Examples of ways to use competition to stimulate intrinsic motivation:
"Yours was one of the best papers in this class."
A student graduates with a high enough class rank to get into the college of his choice.
A student wins the Jeopardy-style game based on the information her class was required to study.

Note: The competition doesn't have to be a formal competition. All that is required is that the person compare his/her performance to that of others.
Note: Not all competitions are examples of intrinsic motivation. If students are required to compete over things that they don't care about, this would be an example of a very extrinsic form of motivation.


A second interpersonal factor in motivation is cooperation, in which learners derive satisfaction from working toward group goals. As was the case with competition, the motivating force of cooperation is stronger for some persons than others, and these differences are often related to the person's previous experience or to the importance that cultures or subcultures place on cooperation. The motivating effects of competition and cooperation are discussed in greater detail in the Classroom Atmosphere section of this chapter.Examples of ways to use cooperation to stimulate intrinsic motivation:
"Because each of us contributed, our group project received a high grade."
"If we all do our part, we'll make lots of money."
A team of student wins a College-Bowl-style game. The teacher assigned all the members of the class to groups of five students. In order for the team to succeed, each individual had to do well. Therefore, all the team members helped the others on the team. {This is an example of a combination of competition and cooperation. It may also involve a challenge.}

Note: The cooperation doesn't have to be based on formal cooperative learning. All that is required is that the person derive satisfaction from contributing to the success of others.

A third interpersonal factor in motivation is recognition. Most people enjoy having their efforts and accomplishments recognized and appreciated by others. In order to obtain recognition, the activity of the learner must be visible to others. There are three ways to achieve visibility: (1) the process of performing an activity may be visible, (2) the product of the activity may be visible, or (3) some other result of the activity may be visible (for example, an article may appear in the newspaper listing the names of people who participated in a science fair).Examples of ways to use recognition to stimulate intrinsic motivation:
"Son, that's a really good paper." {The same comment could be directed to Mary, Bubba, or anyone else.}
"The following students did outstanding work…."
"Because of your contribution, our group project received a high grade." {This is a combination of recognition and cooperation.}
"Here's an award for finishing first in your class." {This is a combination of recognition and competition.}


Note: The differences between recognition and competition are that (1) recognition does not require a comparison to someone else's performance and (2) competition does not require the approval of an outsider.


Review Quiz 6
Indicate whether each of the following teachers is emphasizing competition, cooperation, or recognition as a motivational strategy. (The answer could be one of these, a combination of these, or none of these.) Also identify any of the individual motivational factors that are present.
Mr. Walters lets his students play NUMBER MUNCHERS, an arcade-style game in which students practice their math skills. When a student's game score is among the ten best, that student's name goes into the Hall of Fame, which other students can view when they play the game.
Miss Monroe gives her weekly ten-minute quiz. Then she lets the students retake the test together and study together for a half hour. They get points toward their grade based on the performance of the group on the retake. Then they take a different form of the test at the end of the class. The higher of the two individual test scores counts for each student.
Coach Wilkes gives outstanding performance rewards to all members of the track team who improved their weight-lifting performance by at least 20%.