by Michael Shepard

Created on: January 31, 2010   Last Updated: February 02, 2010

Outside motivation is equally as strong as internal motivation.  A case in point is the police tazer.  While never receiving the shock personally myself; being a witness of crappie flop behavior immediately following a tazing on the syndicated show “Cops” is an indelible image; highly motivating one to conduct performance in a law abiding manner.  Fear of external motivation actualization is powerful internal motivation and results in magnificent discipline.

So, the thought of being motivated to cooperate from an outside source brings strength of internal motivation to avoid external negative outcome inducement.  Fear of pain is the motivating factor serving the goal of law abidance.

External motivation loses effectiveness when procedures are applied inconsistently, however.  Indiscriminate tazer use creates confusion of what is expected in terms of cooperation.  If one is tazed regardless of one’s behavior, then tazer application is rendered impotent in service toward the goal of public safety protection.

Minneapolis Police Department is learning this lesson the hard way.  One of their officers was recently separated from employment due to tazer application motivated merely by perverted need satisfaction in thrill of immediate and indescribably excruciating pain infliction.  There is also a half million dollar lawsuit pending against the Department.  It is scheduled to be heard in 2012.  Justice could be externally motivated to be served faster, and screening of applicants to minimize sociopathology in the workforce becomes  new motivation to the Department.

The problem with the tazer example is that it fails to address positive reinforcement and reward motivation.  The recent Nobel Peace Prize awarded to President Obama is reward motivation on basis of future achievement.  If advancement of world peace is accomplished, external motivation is effectively used.  If expectations of peace remain unfulfilled through the administration’s efforts, internal negative motivations of shame and humiliation avoidance will drive peace effort.  Internal or external; or a little of both motivations; will accomplish the same task.

 A $50,000 reward for information leading to discovery the whereabouts of a 15 year old male lost in the community is intended as positive motivation for the goal of finding the lad. This is external; yet is motivated by the internal motivation of wish to alleviate pain of concern regarding the unknown fate of the loved one and service of greed satisfaction on the part of the information giver.  Greed; a negative character quality; is appealed to in hopes of accomplishing a positive outcome.  Internal external, positive and negative motivators hold equal power and strength in behavior modification.  The world is composed of perfectly opposing forces.  The decision to motivate towards good or evil is in the discretionary hands of the tazer-holder.

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