Effects of Social Cues, Task Complexity, and Sex on Intrinsic Motivation and Task Perceptions: A Test of the Task-Instrumentality Hypothesis

Abstract

This study investigated the interaction of task complexity, social cues, and sex on measures of intrinsic motivation and task perceptions. Social cues were in the form of co-worker statements regarding their preference for intrinsic or extrinsic task outcomes. It was predicted that to the extent the task was instrumental in meeting subjects' expectations (motivational orientation) evoked by the co-worker cue, higher levels of satisfaction, if not intrinsic motivation, would be present. This was called the task-instrumentality hypothesis. To assess sex effects related to the possibility that women may react differently to the task and co-worker cues, sex was included as a factor in the design. The design was a 2 (Cue: Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic) x 2 (Task: Simple vs. Complex) x 2 Sex: (Male vs. Female Subjects) factorial design. Subjects were 81 undergraduate students. The results indicate that for the behavioral measures of intrinsic motivation the instrumentality hypothesis was supported for men only, as evidenced by a significant three-way interaction. In addition, exploratory analyses were also conducted. The results are discussed from a motivational-orientations perspective.