Can intrinsic motivation defeat writer’s block?
Teresa Amabile researches the social construction of creativity. That means what? It means that creativity is affected by your involvement with other people. You may think that’s obvious, but stay with me: we’re headed down some surprising alleys. A group of students spent five minutes thinking about the intrinsic satisfactions of writing – the ways it makes you feel, the learning, growth and pride of being a creator. They were asked to rank these satisfactions in order. Another group spent five minutes thinking about the extrinsic reasons for writing, such as approval and wealth, and ranking them in order. After that everyone was asked to write a short poem. Independent judges rated the first group’s poems markedly better. This reminds us of Deci’s research finding that – in certain circumstances – people will work harder and longer if you don’t pay them. First, let’s mention those writers whose first novels are enormously successful, who are hailed as rising young stars, and who neve
