Deadlines, Self-Perceptions, and Intrinsic Motivation
The present study investigated the role of self-perceptions and time deadlines on intrinsic motivation for a perceptual-motor game. Self-perceptions were manipulated by means of personality feedback emphasizing an intrinsic or extrinsic motivational orientation. Feedback was based ostensibly on group-administered tests in a first session. In a second session, subjects individually took part in a clinical judgment study (providing the "cover story"), received personality feedback, and then were invited to perform a game supposedly being pilot-tested for another researcher. Half of the subjects performed this task with an explicit time deadline. Following a second trial of the judgment task, subjects had a "free play" period of 8-min. During this time, subjects who initially tried the game with an explicit deadline evidenced less intrinsic interest than those who initially attempted the activity without time constraints. Although perceived as veridical by most subjects, the personality feedback had no effect on subsequent intrinsic motivation.