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In their thorough discussion of basic income (BI), Hüffmeier and Zacher (2021) make a comprehensive and convincing case for its relevance to industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology. Yet, notably absent were discussions of the overjustification effect and motivation crowding theory, both of which are essential in understanding critics’ pushback on BI and thoroughly understanding the nature of BI’s likely influence on worker motivation.
As an important correlate to self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000), the overjustification effect suggests that the presence of extrinsic rewards can undermine intrinsic motivation (e.g., Deci, 1971; Deci et al., 1999). This is critically relevant to the primary concerns that have been raised by critics of BI and highlighted by Hüffmeier and Zacher (2021). Indeed, one of critics’ most central concerns is that introduction of a BI would compromise workers’ motivation. That charge, however, is overly general, and addressing the concern sufficiently requires a more nuanced look at the nature of worker motivation, as well as consideration of the motivation crowding theory from the field of economics. To that end, I suggest that unpacking the overjustification effect and motivation crowding theory as they relate to BI will provide a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of BI’s likely effect on worker motivation—and advance our understanding of BI’s potential to increase individuals’ intrinsic motivation toward work over time.
First things first: Motivation as a continuum
Cognitive evaluation theory (Deci & Ryan, 1980, 1985), a critically relevant subtheory of self-determination theory, makes explicit that the self-determination potential of motivation rests along a continuum, rather than the dichotomy that some of the research pitting intrinsic and extrinsic motivations against one another suggests. As such, some forms of extrinsic motivation—namely, integrated and identified regulation—evidence intrinsic characteristics, and viceversa. Thus, inflammatory claims that extrinsic motivations “can extinguish intrinsic motivation” (Pink, 2009, p. 9) entirely are unlikely, and feed into the misconception that the two forms of motivation are effectively dichotomized. Indeed, the mere existence of paid work—however enjoyable or otherwise—suggests that they cannot be. Rather, motivation to work becomes more or less internalized along the continuum depending upon a number of factors, including presence, nature, and extent of contingent (or noncontingent) rewards.
A financial cushion: The ability to pursue intrinsically motivating work
With the extrinsic motivating potential...