Intrinsic Motivation
constructadapted
ClaimIntrinsic motivation is self-generated drive that requires specific neurobiological prerequisites: functional dopaminergic circuits, regulated arousal, intact reward sensitivity, PFC capable of generating options.
This claim fails if
If intrinsic motivation is demonstrated to operate normally when dopaminergic prerequisites are experimentally suppressed, the biological prerequisite claim fails.
Self-generated drive that requires specific neurobiological prerequisites (functional dopaminergic circuits, regulated arousal, intact reward sensitivity, PFC capable of generating options). Not purely psychological -- state-dependent.
Nearest academic equivalents
- Intrinsic motivation (Ryan & Deci 2000)
- Flow (Csikszentmihalyi 1990)
Delta from academic usage
Foregrounds the biological prerequisites that must be present for intrinsic motivation to operate. The system does not motivate. It restores the conditions under which the person's own motivation operates. When dopaminergic prerequisites are offline, "follow your curiosity" fails -- not because the person lacks passion, but because neurobiological capacity for curiosity is temporarily unavailable.
Status: DA prerequisite specificity needs empirical grounding.
Depends onCapacity