Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation

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Soc Psychol Educ (2011) 14:427439

DOI 10.1007/s11218-011-9155-1

Intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and academic

achievement among Indian adolescents in Canadaand India

Shaljan Areepattamannil John G. Freeman

Don A. Klinger

Received: 30 November 2010 / Accepted: 20 March 2011 / Published online: 22 April 2011 Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2011

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationships among

intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and academic achievement for the Indian

immigrant adolescents in Canada in comparison to their counterparts in India. Descrip-

tive discriminant analysis indicated that the Indian immigrant adolescents in Canada

had higher intrinsic motivation and academic achievement than their peers in India.

By contrast, the Indian adolescents in India had higher extrinsic motivation than their

counterparts in Canada. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed the positivepredictive effects of intrinsic motivation on academic achievement for both the Indian

immigrant and Indian adolescents. While extrinsic motivation had a negative predic-

tive effect on academic achievement for the Indian immigrant adolescents in Canada,

it was not a significant predictor of academic achievement for the Indian adolescents

in India. Implications of the findings for policy and practice are discussed.

Keywords Intrinsic motivation Extrinsic motivation Academic achievement

Indian immigrant adolescents Indian adolescents

1 Introduction

Childrens abilities and skills do not fully explain their academic achievement

(Graham and Hudley 2005; Pintrich 2003; Schunk and Zimmerman 2007), suggesting

that there are also other pertinent factors at play in determining childrens academic

achievement. It is in this context that the noncognitive correlates of academic achieve-

ment, such as intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation, have been found to play a

pivotal role in childrens school achievement (see Areepattamannil and Freeman 2008;
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428 S. Areepattamannil et al.

Areepattamannil et al. 2010;Becker et al. 2010;Lee et al. 2010). Furthermore, intrin-

sic motivation and extrinsic motivation form the basis of some of the contemporary

theories of academic motivation, such as self-determination theory (SDT; Deci and

Ryan1985,2000,2008a;Niemiec et al. 2010;Ryan and Deci 2000a;Vansteenkiste

et al.2008) and attribution theory(Weiner 1986,1995,2006). However, the contem-porary theories of academic motivation and the two distinct types of academic moti-

vationintrinsic and extrinsicare the offspring of Western theorizing and research.

Thus, most of the research pertaining to academic motivation and motivational beliefs

involved Western, particularly American, participants (Klassen 2004; Klassen and

Usher2010).

Because modern education needs cross-cultural psychology (Triandis 2001,

p. 1), it is of critical importance to broaden the purview of motivation theories

and research to account for the experiences of culturally diverse groups (Murdock

2009;McInerney and Van Etten 2004). However, concurring withKlassen (2004),McInerney (2007) posits that when motivational and learning theories are trans-

ported to new cultural and social settings to understand and manage individual and

group behavior, there might be a mismatch (p. 369). Therefore, more empirical

research, examining the effects of motivational constructs on learning outcomes for

school children across cultures, is warranted. Although there is an increasing body of

research devoted to the study of academic motivation across East Asian cultures (e.g.,

Liem and Nie 2008; Zhou and Salili 2008), no study to date has examined the interrela-

tionships among intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and academic achievement

for adolescents, particularly for Indian adolescents, in South Asia and Indian immi-grant adolescents in Canada. Hence, the objectives of the present study were to: (1)

examine the intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and academic achievement of

Indian immigrant adolescents in Canada in comparison to their counterparts in India;

and (2) explore the predictive effects of intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation

on academic achievement for the Indian immigrant adolescents in Canada, and for the

Indian adolescents in India.

1.1 Intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and academic achievement

Historically, motivation theorists and their motivation theories have treated motiva-

tion primarily as a unidimensional concept (Deci and Ryan 2008b). Furthermore,

several contemporary theories of motivation unduly emphasize the overall amount of

motivation, and fail to differentiate the types of motivation (Deci and Ryan 2008a,b).

Motivation, according to SDT, is multidimensional in nature(Deci and Ryan 2000),

and the multidimensional motivation orientation encompasses three global types of

motivation: intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and amotivation (Deci and Ryan

1985, 2000, 2008a). Of these, intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation are the two

primary types of motivated academic behavior (Cokley 2003).Ryan and Deci(2002)posit:
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Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and achievement 429

motivation represents a prototype of self-determined activity, in that, when intrin-

sically motivated, people engage in activities freely, being sustained by the expe-

rience of interest and enjoyment. (p. 10)

Thus, intrinsic motivation is the most self-determined form of academic motivation(Vallerand and Ratelle 2002). Initially, motivation theorists argued that intrinsic moti-

vation was unidimensional in nature (Vallerand and Ratelle 2002). Later, Vallerand and

his colleagues (Vallerand et al. 1989,1992,1993) proposed a tripartite taxonomy of

intrinsic motivation: intrinsic motivation to know, intrinsic motivation to accomplish,

and intrinsic motivation to experience stimulation.Vallerand(1997) differentiates the

three types of intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation to know refers to the desire

to perform an activity for the pleasure and satisfaction that one experiences while

learning, exploring, or trying to understand something new (p. 280). Intrinsic moti-

vation to accomplish, on the other hand, refers to the desire to perform an activity forthe pleasure and satisfaction that one receives from accomplishing or creating new

things. Finally, individuals who participate in an activity for the pleasure and satis-

faction derived while experiencing pleasurable intellectual or physical sensations are

intrinsically motivated to experience stimulation.

A number of studies have demonstrated the innumerable advantages of intrinsic

motivation in the context of learning. Intrinsically motivated students tend to have

higher academic achievement (e.g.,Areepattamannil and Freeman 2008;Areepatta-

mannil et al.2010;Gottfried et al. 2007), higher intellectual performance (e.g.,Got-

tfried and Gottfried 1996, 2004), higher self-esteem (e.g., Deci and Ryan 1995), greaterpersistence (e.g.,Vansteenkiste et al. 2004,2006), less academic anxiety (e.g., Got-

tfried1982,1985,1990), mastery-oriented coping with failure (e.g., Dweck 1975),

enhanced deep or conceptual learning (e.g., Ames and Archer 1988;Grolnick and

Ryan 1987; Vansteenkiste et al. 2004), creativity (e.g., Eisenberger and Shanock

2003; Koestner et al. 1984), enhanced cognitive flexibility and engagement (e.g.,

McGraw and McCullers 1979;Walker et al. 2006), enhanced subjective/psychologi-

cal well-being (e.g.,Burton et al. 2006;Ryan and Deci 2000a;Sheldon et al. 2004),

and less extrinsic motivation (e.g., Gottfried et al. 2005). Without doubt, intrinsic

motivation would contribute to successful school performance(Gottfried et al. 2007,2008).

Extrinsic motivation, by contrast, refers to a broad array of behaviors having

in common the fact that activities are engaged in not for reasons inherent in them,

but for instrumental reasons(Vallerand and Ratelle 2002, p. 42). Because extrinsic

motivation is a multidimensional construct, SDT postulates that extrinsically moti-

vated behaviors are characterized by four types of extrinsic behavioral regulation:

external regulation, introjected regulation, identified regulation, and integrated reg-

ulation (Ryan and Deci 2002). Moreover, SDT maintains that these four types of

extrinsic behavioral regulation can be situated along a self-determination continuum,

with external regulation representing a complete lack of self-determined motivation

and integrated regulation representing the most self-determined form of extrinsic moti-
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and integrated regulation representing the most self determined form of extrinsic moti


external to the individual. In other words, rewards and constraints regulate these

behaviors. For example, a student who performs an activity to satisfy external demands

(e.g., a tangible reward or punishment) or social contingency is externally regulated.

Next along the autonomy continuum is the construct of extrinsic motivation-intro-

jected regulation. These behaviors are controlled in part by the environment, but alsoby internal reward/punishment contingencies (e.g., ego enhancement, guilt, shame,

or obligation). An example is students who perform their schoolwork because they

do not want to let their parents down. Hence, introjected regulation encompasses a

moderately low degree of self-determination.

Further along the self-determination continuum, extrinsic motivation-identified reg-

ulation refers to behaviors that are performed by choice because the individual judges

them to be important. For instance, a student with identified regulation engages in a

particular behavior as long as she or he perceives the usefulness or instrumental value

of doing so. In contrast to introjected regulation, identified regulation encompassesa moderately high degree of self-determination. Therefore, identified regulation is a

relatively autonomous form of extrinsic motivation. Finally, integrated regulation, the

most developmentally advanced form of extrinsic motivation, refers to behaviors that

are fully integrated into ones self-schema. Although integrated forms of motivation,

like intrinsic motivation, are characterized by a sense of autonomy and freedom, they

are still extrinsic because behavior motivated by integrated regulation is done for its

presumed instrumental value with respect to some outcome that is separate from the

behavior (Ryan and Deci 2000b, p. 62).

Numerous studies have documented the effects of extrinsic motivation on learningoutcomes. Students who are extrinsically motivated are more likely to have lower

academic achievement (e.g., Becker et al. 2010;Lepper et al. 2005; Wolters et al.

1996) and to engage in surface learning (e.g.,Biggs 1991). Furthermore, extrinsically

motivated students experience greater anxiety (e.g.,Wolters et al. 1996), less positive

emotions in school (e.g.,Sncal et al. 1995), and have a poorer ability to cope with

failures (e.g.,Deci and Ryan 2000).

In summary, intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation are not incompatible and

can coexist in different degrees (Covington and Mueller 2001). Guay et al. (2008)

opine that student motivation is of high quality when primarily based on intrinsic,integrated and identified regulations, and is of poor quality when based on external

and introjected regulations (p. 233). Thus, intrinsic motivation, unlike extrinsic moti-

vation, is related to more positive academic and psychological outcomes (Reeve et al.

2007). Therefore, it is critical to examine the relationships among intrinsic motivation,

extrinsic motivation, and academic achievement for the Indian immigrant adolescents

in Canada and Indian adolescents in India. The following research questions addressed

the objectives of the present study:

1. To what extent do the Indian immigrant adolescents in Canada differ from their

counterparts in India in terms of their intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation,

and academic achievement?
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and academic achievement?


2 Method

2.1 Participants

The final sample consisted of 355 Indian immigrant adolescents in Grades 912 (179male, 176 female) from one of the provinces in Central Canada, and 363 Indian ado-

lescents in Grades 912 (192 male, 171 female) from one of the states in India. The

age of the Indian immigrant participants ranged from 16 to 19 years, with a mean age

of 16.04 years (SD = 1.15). The age of the Indian participants ranged from 13 to 18

years, with a mean age of 16.88 years (SD = .89).

2.2 Data collection procedures

After obtaining clearance from the university research ethics board, principals of five

secondary schools in one of the states in India were contacted. Three of the five schools

agreed to participate in the study. The participating students completed the research

measures in the classroom setting. All questionnaires were administered in English,

which was the primary language of instruction in the participating schools. Students

were told that all of their answers would be confidential and that they did not have

to answer any of the questions if they did not wish to. Participants were seated at

individual tables to ensure privacy while they completed the measures. Data from the

Indian immigrant adolescents were collected through the Indian community centers

in Central Canada.

2.3 Measures

2.3.1 Demographic questionnaire

The demographic questionnaire asked respondents to report their age, gender, and cur-

rent grades in school. To measure academic achievement, participants were asked to

report their overall school GPA on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 = A (Mostly 90s) to5 = F (Mostly 50s). The scale was later reverse scored such that higher scores indicate

higher grades.

2.3.2 Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

Intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation were measured using 24 items drawn

from the Academic Motivation ScaleHigh School version (AMS;Vallerand et al.

1992). The items were rated on a scale ranging from 1 (does not correspond at all) to

7 (corresponds exactly). Separate exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) using principal

axis factoring (PAF) with oblique rotation were performed for each sample to identify

the measures. The latent root criterion (eigenvalue > 1.00) and an examination of
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the measures. The latent root criterion (eigenvalue > 1.00) and an examination of


The internal reliability of the intrinsic motivation scale was .95 for the Indian immi-

grant sample and .76 for the Indian sample. The internal reliability of the extrinsic

motivation scale was .88 for the Indian immigrant sample and .80 for the Indian sample.

3 Results

3.1 Intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and academic achievement

of Indian Immigrant and Indian adolescents

Descriptive statistics and intercorrelations among the study variables are presented

in Table 1. Because descriptive discriminant analysis (DDA) is sufficient to indi-

cate both that group differences exist and precisely where they exist among the

variables (see Huberty and Olejnik 2006; Sherry 2006), DDA was conducted in

lieu of multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) to identify the variables that

best discriminate between Indian immigrant and Indian adolescents (see Table 2).

The variables entered were extrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation, and overall

school GPA. Groups were Indian immigrant and Indian. The overall Wilks lambda,

= .94, 2(3,N = 714) = 47.60,p < .001, 2 = .06, indicated that the two

groups were statistically significantly different, and the resulting discriminant func-

tion would be statistically significant.

The canonical correlation (Rc), a measure of association that summarizes the degree

of relationship between the groups and the discriminant function (Tabachnick and

Fidell2007), was .25. Thus, the correlation between the grouping variable and thecomposite predictor variable accounted for only 6% of the variance (R2c ), suggest-

ing that the canonical discriminant function did not discriminate between the two

Table 1 Descriptive statistics and intercorrelations among the study variables

Indian immigrant Indian

M SD Correlation M SD Correlation

1 2 3 1 2 3

1. Extrinsic motivation 5.20 1.09 5.35 .91

2. Intrinsic motivation 4.97 1.39 .34** 4.68 .83 .57**

3. Overall school GPA 4.12 .49 .01 .48** 3.79 .94 .17** .23**

p < .01

Table 2 Standardized discriminant function and structure coefficients for the two groups

Variable Coefficient rs r2s (%)

Extrinsic motivation .56 .28 7.84

Intrinsic motivation 49 47 22 09
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Intrinsic motivation 49 47 22 09


groups very well. Extrinsic motivation, F(1, 716) =3.90,p < .05, 2 =.01; intrin-

sic motivation, F(1, 716) = 11.08,p < .01, 2 = .02; and overall school GPA,

F(1, 716) =33.73,p < .001, 2 =.05 differentiated the two groups. Overall school

GPA had the strongest correlation with the grouping variable (.83), followed by intrin-

sic motivation (.47). Although extrinsic motivation statistically significantly separatedthe two groups, it had a loading of less than .40. For the substantive interpretation,

loadings less than .40 are not interpreted (see Sherry 2006). Overall school GPA

accounted for 68.89% of the variance in scores on the discriminant function, followed

by intrinsic motivation with 22.09%. Thus, overall school GPA contributed the most

to group separation, followed by intrinsic motivation.

The group centroid means indicated that the discriminant function maximally

separated the Indian immigrant group (.26) from the Indian group (.20). The dis-

criminant function separated the Indian immigrant group from the Indian group on

intrinsic motivation and overall school GPA, with higher scores characterizing theIndian immigrant adolescents (M =4.97, SD =1.39;M =4.68, SD =.83, respec-

tively) and lower scores characterizing the Indian adolescents (M = 4.12, SD =

.49;M =3.79, SD =.94, respectively). By contrast, the discriminant function sepa-

rated the Indian immigrant group from the Indian group on extrinsic motivation, with

higher scores characterizing the Indian adolescents (M =5.35, SD =.91) and lower

scores characterizing the Indian immigrant adolescents (M =5.20, SD =1.09).

3.2 Predicting academic achievement from intrinsic and extrinsic motivation

To address the second research question, separate hierarchical multiple regression

analyses were conducted for the Indian immigrant and Indian samples. Overall school

GPA was the dependent variable. Extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation were

the independent variables. The results of the hierarchical regression analyses for vari-

ables predicting academic achievement are shown in Table 3. Control variables, gender

and age, were entered into the regression equation in Step 1. In Step 2, extrinsic moti-

vation and intrinsic motivation were added to the regression equation.

For the Indian immigrant adolescents, the control variables entered into the regres-sion equation in Step 1 did not account for a statistically significant proportion of the

variance in academic achievement, R2 =.01,F(2, 352) =1.09,p =.34. After Step

2, with extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation also included in the equation,

R2 =.26,Fchange(4, 350) =31.53,p < .001. Thus, addition of extrinsic motivation

and intrinsic motivation to the regression equation resulted in a statistically signif-

icant increment in R2. Whereas extrinsic motivation negatively predicted academic

achievement for the Indian immigrant adolescents ( = .18,p < .001), intrinsic

motivation positively predicted their academic achievement ( =.54,p < .001).

For the Indian adolescents, the control variables entered into the regression equation

in Step 1 accounted for a statistically significant proportion of the variance in academic

achievement, R2 = .04, F (2, 360) = 6.67, p < .01. In this step, age was a negative
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achievement, R .04,F(2, 360) 6.67,p < .01. In this step, age was a negative


Table 3 Hierarchical multiple regression analyses for variables predicting academic achievement

Indian immigrant Indian

B (SE) B (SE)

Step 1

Gender .07(.05) .07 .13(.09) .07

Age .01(.03) .02 .14(.04) .17

Step 2

Gender .07(.04) .07 .10(.09) .05

Age .01(.03) .01 .12(.04) .14

Extrinsic motivation .08(.02) .18 .08(.06) .07

Intrinsic motivation .19(.02) .54 .18(.07) .16

For Indian immigrants: R2 = .01 for step 1 (ns ), R2 = .25 for step 2; for Indian: R2 = .04 for step 1,R2 =.04 for step 2.p < .05. p < .01. p < .001

and intrinsic motivation to the regression equation resulted in a statistically signifi-

cant increment in R2. Extrinsic motivation did not statistically significantly predict

academic achievement for the Indian adolescents ( = .07,p = .24). However,

intrinsic motivation positively predicted Indian adolescents academic achievement

( =.16,p < .05).

4 Discussion

The aim of this study was twofold: first, to examine the intrinsic motivation,

extrinsic motivation, and academic achievement of Indian immigrant adolescents in

Canada in comparison to their counterparts in India; and second, to investigate the pre-

dictive effects of intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation on academic achieve-

ment for the Indian immigrant adolescents in Canada and for the Indian adolescents

in India. With regard to academic achievement, the Indian immigrant adolescentsin Canada outperformed their counterparts in India. Whereas the Indian immigrant

adolescents in Canada were more intrinsically motivated than the Indian adolescents

in India, the Indian adolescents were more extrinsically motivated than the Indian

immigrant adolescents in Canada.

One of the reasons for the better school performance of the Indian immigrant

adolescents in Canada could be their higher intrinsic motivation and lower extrinsic

motivation as compared to the Indian adolescents in India. Reeve et al.(2007) posit

that students learn better and feel better when they pursue intrinsic rather than extrin-

sic goals and when their teachers facilitate learning associated with intrinsic goals

(p. 233). Given the numerous benefits of autonomy-supportive classroom contexts (see

McLachlan and Hagger 2010; Reeve 2006; Reeve et al. 2007), the Indian adolescents
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McLachlan and Hagger 2010;Reeve 2006;Reeve et al. 2007), the Indian adolescents


less controlling, wanting to support autonomy, and learning the practical how-to of

classroom autonomy support (Reeve 2009, p. 172). Further research is warranted to

identify the factors that cause differences in intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation,

and academic achievement between the Indian immigrant adolescents in Canada and

the Indian adolescents in India.The findings of the study indicated that extrinsic motivation had a negative pre-

dictive effect on academic achievement for the Indian immigrant adolescents in Can-

ada. In other words, adolescents who study for extrinsic reasons have poorer school

performance than do adolescents with lower extrinsic motivation. However, extrinsic

motivation was not a significant predictor of academic achievement for the Indian

adolescents in India. The negative association between extrinsic motivation and aca-

demic achievement is very well documented in the burgeoning literature on extrinsic

motivation (e.g.,Becker et al. 2010;Lepper et al. 2005;Wolters et al. 1996).

In congruence with previous research (e.g., Areepattamannil and Freeman 2008;Areepattamannil et al. 2010;Gottfried et al. 2007), intrinsic motivation had a positive

predictive effect on academic achievement for both the Indian immigrant adolescents

in Canada and the Indian adolescents in India. This finding suggests that opportunities

to engage in intrinsically motivated learning may lead to better school performance

on the part of adolescents. Hence, supporting intrinsically motivated learning is of

critical importance.Reeve et al.(2007) contend that:

Supporting intrinsic motivation means being attuned to students psychologi-

cal needs and offering external events in ways that support students autonomy,

competence, and intrinsic motivation. It also means findings ways to enrich

learning opportunities, making them more interesting and relevant to students

lives. (p. 234)

In conclusion, the findings of the present study may provide empirical support

that intrinsic motivation is a positive predictor of academic achievement for the

Indian immigrant adolescents in Canada and for the Indian adolescents in India. Fur-

thermore, the present study corroborates the negative association between extrinsic

motivation and academic achievement. Indeed, more research revolving around the

impact of motivational constructs on learning outcomes is required to unearth themeaning and implications of motivational constructs and motivation theories across

cultures.

4.1 Limitations of the study

There are two limitations of the study. First, the measure of academic achievement

in the study is based on student self-reports. Although self-reported grades are rea-

sonably good reflections of actual grades for students with high ability and good

grade point averages, self-reported grades are unlikely to represent accurately the

actual scores of students with low GPAs and, to a lesser extent, low ability (Kuncel
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actual scores of students with low GPAs and, to a lesser extent, low ability (Kuncel


extrinsic motivation, and academic achievement for the Indian immigrant and Indian

adolescents in the present study may not be generalizable to adolescents across cultures

in India.

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Author Biographies

Shaljan Areepattamannil is a PhD candidate in educational psychology at the Faculty of Education,

Queens University, Canada. His research focuses on better understanding the psychological and environ-

mental factors that impact the academic achievement of adolescents across cultures.

John G. Freemanis an associate professor at the Faculty of Education, Queens University, with a cross-

appointment to theSchool of HealthSciencesand Kinesiology andDirector of theSocial Program EvaluationGroup (SPEG). His research and that of the students he supervises focuses primarily on how schools can be

made more welcoming places for students, teachers, and parents, regardless of ability level, race, sexuality,

or emotional health (among other considerations). As Director of SPEG, he hopes to build rich research

partnerships between local community partners and Queens University.

Don A. Klinger is an associate professor in assessment and evaluation at the Faculty of Education at

Queens University, Canada. His research explores the use of large-scale assessments and databases to

inform educational policy and practice, and help us determine those factors associated with educational

outcomes.


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