Department of Psychology, The University of Alabama, Box 870348, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0348, United States.
Auburn University, 301 Wire Road, Auburn, AL 36849.
Neuroscience. 2019 Sep 15;416:137-146. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2019.07.039. Epub 2019 Jul 29.
Some models of motivation distinguish between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. While past work has examined the neural and cognitive correlates of extrinsic motivation, research on intrinsic motivation has relied primarily on behavioral measures of performance and learning. In particular, no past work has examined the neural and cognitive correlates of social performance expectancy, which is linked to intrinsic motivation. The current study manipulated expectancy of difficult (vs. easy) trials on a cued flanker task and assessed attentional scope and performance. EEG was used to examine motor-action preparation as measured by suppression of beta band activity over the motor cortex and feedback processing as measured by the Reward Positivity (RewP). Results revealed expectancy of difficult (vs. easy) trials narrowed attentional scope, reduced beta activity over the motor cortex, and enhanced RewP amplitudes to win feedback. These findings suggest that enhancing intrinsic motivation through expectancies of positive social comparison engages similar neural and cognitive correlates as extrinsic motivators high in motivational intensity.
一些动机模型区分了内在动机和外在动机。虽然过去的研究已经考察了外在动机的神经和认知相关性，但内在动机的研究主要依赖于表现和学习的行为测量。特别是，过去没有研究考察与内在动机相关的社会表现预期的神经和认知相关性。本研究在提示性侧抑制任务中操纵了对困难（相对于简单）试验的预期，并评估了注意力范围和表现。使用脑电图来检查运动动作准备，这是通过抑制运动皮层上的β波段活动来衡量的，以及反馈处理，这是通过奖励正性（RewP）来衡量的。结果表明，对困难（相对于简单）试验的预期缩小了注意力范围，降低了运动皮层上的β活动，并增强了赢取反馈的RewP 幅度。这些发现表明，通过对积极的社会比较的期望来增强内在动机，会引起与高动机强度的外在激励者相似的神经和认知相关性。
