tigs:
Why do you want to climb Mount Everest? Because it’s there.
This visualization of cognitive surplus is so simple but it does a great job of pointing to the efficacy of intrinsic motivations (to see the original sketch with incorrect proportions, click here.).
It reminds me of this Daniel Pink article from RSA Journal on what motivates us to work. Aside from the biological (forwarding the species, etc…) and rational (money, etc…) motivators, humans have an “inherent tendency to seek out novelty and challenges, to extend and exercise their capacities, to explore and to learn” - to accomplish things for the sake of accomplishment.
Pink also cites Wikipedia, not as an example of cognitive surplus, but as proof of the power of intrinsic motivation. Wikipedia essentially destroyed the need for products like Microsoft’s Encarta and it was created because people wanted to contribute.
Cognitive surplus is what gives us the capacity to create something like Wikipedia. The intrinsic value in creating such a thing motivates us to apply our cognitive surpluses.
Recent research has hinted at potential means to link cognitive surplus and intrinsic motivation. A recent paper titled “Motivating Goal-Directed Behavior through Introspective Self-Talk: The Role of the Interrogative Form of Simple Future Tense” examined the effects of interrogative self-talk (asking “will I?”) versus declarative self-talk (saying “I will.”) (here’s a pretty thorough and digestible summary). Participants in the study that engaged in interrogative instead of declarative self talk were better able to perform goal-oriented tasks (solving anagrams, exercise, etc…).
By giving themselves an option (“Will I complete this task?”), participants’ focus shifted to the intrinsic value of accomplishment that, in turn, resulted in better performance.
When you start to consider the potential of linking the cognitive surpluses of millions of people through an increasingly ubiquitous digital space, motivated by intrinsic value, it’s pretty easy to see why so many people (and brands) are excited about what’s coming in the future.
Reblogged from tigs|4 notes |#