Motivators of individual effort path diagram

Easy to use tools that helps users find and track work that needs to be done increases the amount that gets done. (DC 2 CH2)

Providing tools for finding and tracking work

Online communities can request specific contributions from their community members

Requesting contributions from community members

Posits that behaviors and actions are controlled by three main factors, Motivation, Ability, and Triggers. The theory suggests that the lack of any one of the three factors will hamper action.

Fogg Behavioral Model

- gamification systems
- social proof/influence
- social presence
- peer assessment
- goal setting
- comment/voting systems
- leadership type
- shared leadership

Ways to encourage contribution in online communities

Incentivizing or convincing users to contribute content on the platform. This can be showing them that the utility of adding content is greater than the cost of having to create it.

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- Encouraging commitment
- Encouraging contribution 
- Regulating behavior of its members
- Attracting and maintaining new members
- Maintaining the critical mass of users and content

Factors of a Successful Online Community

When the means of participation is to achieve some other goal (status, money, etc.). For example, if I play a sport because I think it will impress someone. Extrinsic motivation involves doing something to receive something form others.

Extrinsic Motivation

When the performance (engagement) of some activity is the end in its own right. For example, I play a sport because I enjoy doing it and may have fond memories of doing it. Intrinsic motivation relates to the personal satisfaction one feels from doing the behavior.

Intrinsic Motivation

Kraut, Robert E., and Paul Resnick. Building successful online communities: Evidence-based social design. MIT Press, 2012.

Building successful online communities: Evidence-based social design (Kraut and Resnick)

Committed members of an online community are more likely to provide meaningful content valued by other users. Commitment also serves as an essential foundation for behavior regulation. Different types of commitment (e.g., affective, need-based, and normative) can be cultivated within online communities, and the optimal type to encourage depends on the specific vision and goals of the community.

Encouraging Commitment to Online Communities

Encouraging contributions in online communities

Membership overlap in multiple online communities has been shown to have beneficial effects. Zhu et al. studied historical data of 5673 Wikia communities and found that higher levels of membership overlap may increase chances of survival of online communities. 

Membership overlap in online communities

Economics and psychology provide explanations for why individuals act the way they do and how they behave in social settings. These theories are based on observations of real-world behavior, experiments, and mathematical models. When understood correctly, they can guide decisions on how to:
- Establish a community
- Integrate new members
- Promote dedication
- Manage conflicts
- Inspire participation
- Coordinate efforts

to maximize community benefits.

What insights do social science studies provide on creating successful online communities?

Creating an online community requires a critical mass of users and a sufficient amount of content to attract and retain members. This is known as the critical mass problem.

In a cancer support group, for example, the content may be messages shared by cancer survivors and caregivers. In an open-source software development community, it may be a base of working code for developers to build upon. On a site like YouTube, the content is user-generated video clips.

Obtaining critical mass for an online community

The longevity of any online community relies on its ability to attract and integrate new members as existing ones inevitably leave. Without a consistent influx of fresh perspectives and participation, the community will ultimately decline. Even well-established communities must actively seek out and cultivate potential members who possess the necessary attributes, talents, and motivation to positively contribute to the community's growth and development.

Attracting and maintaining new members in online communities

- Screening out inappropriate members
- Moderating content
- Dealing with inappropriate messages
- Resolving conflicts

Regulating behavior In online communities

Goals with an "outward" orientation - meaning they are concerned with extrinsic manifestations of worth rather than fulfilling innate need satisfaction  (Williams, Cox, Hedberg, & Deci, 2000; Fromm, 1976; Van Boven & Gilovich, 2003). In SDT, they include:
- wealth 
- fame
- image
- physical appearance 

Extrinsic goals

- Intrinsic motivation and extrinsic incentives jointly predict performance: A 40-year meta-analysis
- Teachers’ perceptions of academic intrinsic motivation for students with disabilities

References about extrinsic and intrinsic motivation

Posited by Fogg, they are external events or actions that coerces/persuades users to perform a certain action. Triggers can be classified as:
- Sparks (draws upon motivating factors)
- Facilitators (draws upon ability/enabling factors)
- Signals (draws upon regularities or habits).

Behavioral Triggers

Meeting the expectations of one's peers draws on both behavioral and emotional engagement, and can facilitate further discussion that is usually absent when being assessed by a lecturer.

"Motivated by the knowledge that there is an audience."

According to SDT, there are four types of extrinsic motivation, as listed below. 

1. External Regulation
2. Introjected Regulation
3. Identified Regulation
4. Integrated Regulation

Types of Extrinsic Motivation

"The extrinsic reward structures of engagement-contingent rewards, completion-contingent rewards, and performance-contingent rewards all undermine intrinsic motivation in most cases... Adding too many extrinsic badges, points, or rewards may undermine your efforts." (Kapp 2012).



Extrinsic - Intrinsic Motivation Conflicts

Willingness and consistency in performing said task. Can also be seen as "positive conduct" or "participation" with regards to the task at hand. Usually measured by:
- Persistence
- Level of concentration
- Contributions made

Behavioral Engagement

Self-Determination Theory has been utilized by some physicians to aid in patient's wellbeing. This is usually done by encouraging exercise, healthy eating, diabetes self-management, and more. The theory is that by encouraging and rewarding positive behavior. patients can improve themselves.

Self-Determination Theory in Healthcare

A proper parent-child relationship is supposed to support the child physically and emotionally. When done effectively, children are more likely to succeed in school and be happier in life. Negative parent-child relationships harm the ability of a student to succeed in academic settings.

Parent-Child Relationships in Education 

If someone wants to be an actor because they want to become famous, do they have intrinsic or extrinsic motivation for pursuing acting?

Extrinsic motivation stems from external factors. Common examples of these external drivers include tangible outcomes like compensation, the avoidance of punishment, or the attainment of other external rewards.

Examples of Extrinsic Motivators: Compensation, Punishment, and Reward

A student whose primary reason for attending college is to obtain a degree that leads to a high-paying career or to fulfill parental expectations is driven by extrinsic motivation. In this case, the behavior is directed by the pursuit of external outcomes, such as financial gain or social approval.

Example of Extrinsic Motivation in Education

Intrinsic motivation is the result of the prospect of fulfilling a "basic desire". Some identify this desire as wanting mastery or competency  (White 1959) and others wanting  pleasure  (Kahneman, Diener, and Schwartz 1999)

Roots of intrinsic motivation

Leads to the direct satisfaction of psychological needs (R. M. Ryan & Deci, 2000a, 2000b). In SDT, they include:
- personal growth
- relationships/affiliation
- community contribution
- health

Intrinsic goals

Motivational interviewing is a client-centered counseling approach that guides individuals in making changes by helping them to find intrinsic motivation. In motivational interviewing, the counselor believes that the client cannot be pushed to change and they must take responsibility and initiative on their own when they are ready.

Motivational Interviewing

This study investigates whether there are differences in a teacher's ratings of academic intrinsic motivation (IM) in students with different types of disabilities. The researchers also investigated whether controlling factors such as parental expectations, teacher competence, and student classroom collaboration provided an explanation for why these ratings were given.

Teachers’ Perceptions of Academic Intrinsic Motivation for Students With Disabilities

Procrastination can help promote creativity when intrinsic motivation is low.

Creativity and Procrastination

The expectation that a person who is intrinsicly motivated will show less procrastination is not backed by research. Less than 10 persent of variance in procrastination is due to high levels of inttrinsic motivation. It may have an influence on how people will directtheir attention during the time they are procrastinating, possibly causing specific types of procrastination or more thought focus on the task.

Intrinsic motivation does not mediate procrastination

Intrinsic motivation and few guidelines allow people to have discression about their work. Having both intinsic motivation and the freedom of choice promotes creative ability and allows for generation of novel ideas.

Intrinsic motivation promotes creativity

Research shows that Intrinsic Motivation is a significant factor in performance and also innovation. At a personal level, intrinsic motivation makes your work fulfilling. It is a major factor in deciding if you should stay at a job or not and it also helps keep your stress level at bay


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