One must become a teacher with intrinsic motivation. Which of the following is…

Concept

Motivation is classified by what the reward for acting actually is. Intrinsic motivation means the reward is inherent in the activity: the work is done because doing it is itself interesting, meaningful or satisfying, so the reward cannot be separated from performing it.

Extrinsic motivation means the reward is a separable outcome — something that exists apart from the activity and is typically delivered by another party: money, marks, promotion, praise, or escape from punishment. Here the work is only the instrument for obtaining the reward, not its source.

In Deci and Ryan's self-determination theory this inherent-versus-separable contrast is the defining criterion. Note that an extrinsic reason can still be personally valued and willingly endorsed, so “the person genuinely cares about it” is not what makes a reason intrinsic. Exam usage often shortens the test to “from within versus from outside”, but the precise criterion is inherent versus separable.

Application

Apply the inherent-versus-separable test to each reason offered for entering the teaching profession:

• “It gives satisfaction” — the fulfilment is produced by the act of teaching itself and has no existence apart from it. The reward is inherent in the activity, so this reason is intrinsic.

• “Doing it for its sake” — the act is pursued as its own end, with no separable outcome being sought; this phrase is the textbook statement of intrinsic motivation itself. The reward is inherent in the activity, so this reason is intrinsic.

• “Growth of one's self” — the expansion of knowledge, skill and character arises out of practising the work and is not something another party could hand over instead. The reward is inherent in the activity, so this reason is intrinsic.

• “Handsome salary” — the money is fixed and paid by an employer under a contract, exists independently of the teaching, and could equally be obtained from other employment. The reward is a separable outcome, so this reason is extrinsic.

The stem asks which reason is NOT intrinsic, so the answer is “Handsome salary”.

Cross-check

A reliable confirmation is to ask who supplies the reward. A salary is supplied by an employer: it is attached to the job as a contractual consequence and would be handed over in the same way for other work, so the teaching is merely the means of collecting it — a separable outcome. Fulfilment felt during teaching, engagement with the act for its own sake, and the growth produced by practising the work are supplied by nobody; they come into existence only through the doing of the activity itself, which is exactly what makes them inherent. That comparable growth happens to be available through other pursuits as well is beside the point — the test is whether the reward is produced BY the activity or merely attached TO it by another party.