What are the hidden motivations in all the decisions we make about technology? Pamela Rutledge spells out why our intrinsic ability to get things done is really what gets us up in the morning. This has resulted in unintended consequences—one manifestation of this is that people now are experience loyal, not brand loyal.
Pamela noted as relevant to technology that social scientists have discovered through years of research that there are really three main components to intrinsic motivation: Autonomy, Relatedness, and Mastery. Basically we like to be our own boss—we like to do our own thing. We want to learn and get better at things, and we want to share it with other people
Asking how to create intrinsic motivation is the wrong question, Pamela asserts. Instead, we should learn how to promote the intrinsic motivation that is naturally a part of everyone since the time we were children. Developers today are creating technology that liberates intrinsic motivation—this is the key to 21st Century skills, because that is what drives creativity and innovation.
Hear in this talk what technology does with motivation, how this has implications at multiple levels, and how giving people more control over their lives increases commercial success.
Dr. Pamela Rutledge is a media psychologist, applying psychology and neuroscience to strategies for emerging technologies and transmedia storytelling. She has provided advice and insights to clients for over 25 years, helping them to see the evolving media landscape with new perspectives. Her interests lie in identifying the ways in which technology and connectivity influence individual and group beliefs and heuristics and extending that into social trends and user preference. Drawing on a broad background in media communications, visual design, business strategy, and psychology, current projects involve developing story and narrative for transmedia communications and integrating positive and cognitive psychology with technology and content design to facilitate self-efficacy, resilience, intrinsic motivation, and flow. Pam is also Director of the Media Psychology Research Center, a nonprofit dedicated to research, assessment and development of pro-social media technologies. She is adjunct faculty at Fielding Graduate University in the Media Psychology master’ s and doctoral programs, an instructor at UCLA Extension, and an instructor and advisory board member for UC Irvine Extension School of Business and Law’ s Internet and social media marketing certificate program. Pam authors a blog for Psychology Today.com called “ Positively Media” , and is Editor-in-Chief of the Media Psychology Review academic journal. She holds a BA from Pomona College, an MBA from the Drucker School of Business at Claremont Graduate, and PhD and MA in media psychology from Fielding Graduate University. Email: pam [at] athinklab.com, twitter: pamelarutledge
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