A lot of research has been done on motivation. You can see motivation as a scale with ‘extrinsically motivated’ and ‘intrinsically motivated’, at the extreme left and right, respectively. A medical student who likes to help people by operating on them (and thus making them better) is intrinsically motivated to study medicine. So is someone who has a genuine interest in medicine. For these students, motivation comes from the heart.
Other students will study for seven years because they know that, for example, their dream job as a surgeon pays well and that as a surgeon they have a good job guarantee and status. Money, prestige, status and similar factors do not come from the heart, but from external factors, such as the employer and the social environment. These are extrinsic motivational factors.
A medical student who is highly motivated intrinsically will need less extrinsic motivation to study for seven years. On the contrary, someone who has a lot of extrinsic motivation will need less intrinsic motivation because: extrinsic motivation factors are no guarantee in the future. As soon as a few factors drop out, the medical student may lose interest and quit his studies.
The motivational gamification techniques in serious games
Before we talk about serious games, let’s revisit the “motivation scale”. With extrinsic and intrinsic at the extreme ends, there is an area in between. Someone can also be in the middle: somewhat intrinsically and somewhat extrinsically motivated.
“Sometimes someone needs extrinsic motivation to become intrinsically motivated.”
More importantly, it may well be that someone goes into a medical study just to earn a lot of money later (extrinsic motivation), but over the course of the study develops so much passion for the field and becomes intrinsically motivated. Sometimes someone needs extrinsic motivation to become intrinsically motivated. And that is why serious games are so effective in motivating medical students.