Dialectical thinking moderates the effect of extrinsic motivation on intrinsic motivation

• Dialectical thinking (DT) moderated the association between extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation.
• The intrinsic motivation of people high on DT was less likely to be undermined by the extrinsic motivation in rewarding environments.
• The intrinsic motivation of Chinese, was less likely to be undermined by the introduction of salient extrinsic rewards than that of Americans.

The present research tested the individual difference variable of dialectical thinking style (DT) as a moderator of the relationship between extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation, in situations where rewards have been introduced for an initially enjoyable activity. In Study 1, participants were asked to imagine gaining rewards for doing an enjoyable activity and in Study 2, participants were given real rewards for doing an enjoyable activity, after which subsequent extrinsic motivation and intrinsic motivation were rated. Both studies revealed a significant interaction effect of DT and self-reported extrinsic motivation in relation to subsequent self-reported intrinsic motivation. The results of Study 3 replicated the general pattern again, using cultural membership (China vs. the U.S.) as a stand-in for DT. Findings indicate that DT mitigates the detrimental effects of extrinsic motivation on intrinsic motivation, identifying an important new individual difference moderator of the “undermining effect” of extrinsic motivation on intrinsic motivation.