Intrinsic Motivation Doesn't Exist Says OSU Professor

Ok.  Here's something interesting.  Dr. Steven Reiss, a professor of psychology at Ohio State University argues that intrinsic motivation doesn't exist.  See http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/inmotiv.htm   There is a link to the journal Behavior Analyst.

Dr. Reiss argues that a "diverse range of human motivations can't be forced into these categories of intrinsic and extrinsic motivations."  Dr. Reiss has developed and tested his own theory of motivation that says there are 16 basic desires that guide meaningful behavior.  They include power, independence, curiosity, and acceptance.  Reiss states, "Whether you agree there are 16 desires or not, there is not any way to reduce all these desires to just two types."  Reiss goes on to say that some of the problems he sees with the theories and studies connected to instrinsic motivation is that there are multiple definitions of intrinsic motivation, and that the definitions can change depending on the circumstances.  In the article Reiss also suggests that "many of these studies haven't considered the possibility that the negative effect of rewards has nothing to do with intrinsic or extrinsic motivations.  Instead, rewards may cause some people to pursue an activity less because of the negative feelings they cause, such as in performance anxiety." Finally, Reiss argues "too many studies that supposedly prove intrinsic motivation have serious flaws in logic, or too many important uncontrolled variables.  There needs to be more scientific rigor."  I agree with Reiss.  Results can always be turned around to prove the hypothesis.  I hope Reiss took that into consideration when he did his own study.