The motivation

William McDougall's purposive psychology
Purposive psychology, also known as hormic psychology, emphasizes that actions by people are done for a purpose or with specific intent. This is a behaviorist theory that states behavior is a reflex because of internal or intrinsic motivation.^[35]
A drive or desire can be described as an urge that activates behavior that is aimed at a goal or an incentive.^[36] These drives are thought to originate within the individual and may not require external stimuli to encourage the behavior. Basic drives could be sparked by urges such as hunger, which motivates a person to seek food whereas more subtle drives might be the desire for praise and approval, which motivates a person to behave in a manner pleasing to others.
Another basic drive is the sexual drive which, like food, motivates us because it is essential to our survival.^[37] The desire for sex is wired deep into the brain of all human beings as glands secrete hormones that travel through the blood to the brain and stimulates the onset of sexual desire.^[37] The hormone involved in the initial onset of sexual desire is called dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA).^[37] The hormonal basis of both men and women's sex drives is testosterone.^{[37][need quotation to verify]}
Intrinsic motivation exists within the individual and is driven by satisfying internal rewards rather than relying on external pressures or extrinsic rewards. It involves an interest in or enjoyment of the activity itself. For instance, an athlete may enjoy playing football for the experience, rather than for an award.^[3] Activities involving their own inherent reward provide motivation that is not dependent on external rewards.^[38] Pursuing challenges and goals comes easier and is more enjoyable when one is intrinsically motivated to complete a certain objective; for example, because the individual is more interested in learning, rather than achieving the goal.^[3] It has been argued that intrinsic motivation is associated with increased subjective well-being^[39] and that it is important for cognitive, social, and physical development.^[40] It can also be observed in animal behaviour, for example, when organisms engage in playful and curiosity-driven behaviours in the absence of reward. Studies have shown that intrinsically motivated individuals (compared those who are externally motivated) have more interest, excitement, and confidence, which leads to enhanced performance, persistence, and creativity.^[41]
According to some theorists, the two necessary elements for intrinsic motivation are self-determination or autonomy and competence.^[42] On this view, the cause of the behaviour must be internal, and the individual who engages in the behaviour must perceive that the task increases their competence.^[40] Social-contextual events like feedback and reinforcement can cause feelings of competence and therefore contribute to intrinsic motivation. However, feelings of competence will not increase intrinsic motivation if there is no sense of autonomy. In situations where choices, feelings, and opportunities are present, intrinsic motivation is increased because people feel a greater sense of autonomy.^[3][42] Some studies suggest that there is a negative correlation between external rewards and intrinsic motivation, i.e. that by providing high external rewards for an activity, the intrinsic motivation for engaging in it tends to be lower.^[43][44]
Various studies have focused on the intrinsic motivation of students.^[45] They suggest that intrinsically motivated students are more likely to engage in the task willingly as well as work to improve their skills, which tends to increase their capabilities.^[46] Students are likely to be intrinsically motivated if they...

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  attribute their educational results to factors under their own control, also known as autonomy or locus of control
  
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  believe they have the skills to be effective agents in reaching their desired goals, also known as self-efficacy beliefs
  
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  are interested in mastering a topic, not just in achieving good grades
  

Traditionally, researchers thought of motivations to use computer systems to be primarily driven by extrinsic purposes; however, many modern systems have their use driven primarily by intrinsic motivations.^[47] Examples of such systems used primarily to fulfill users' intrinsic motivations include online gaming, virtual worlds, online shopping,^[48] learning/education, online dating, digital music repositories, social networking, online pornography, gamified systems, and general gamification.
Intrinsic motivation tends to be more long-lasting, self-sustaining, and satisfying than extrinsic motivation.^[3] For this reason, many efforts in education aim to modify intrinsic motivation with the goal of promoting student learning performance and creativity.^[3] But various studies suggest that intrinsic motivation is hard to modify or inspire. Attempts to recruit existing intrinsic motivators require an individualized approach: they involve identifying and making relevant the different motivators needed to motivate different students.^[3] This usually requires additional skills from the instructor.^[49] Mindfulness has been found to be an intraindividual factor that supports autonomous motivation and thereby contributes to intrinsic motivation.^[50]