Motivation to engage in an activity for external rewards or to avoid punishment.

• A. Intrinsic Motivation
• B. Extrinsic Motivation
• C. Incentive Theory
• D. Motivation

Answer: (B)

Extrinsic motivation is the drive to engage in an activity to obtain external rewards or to avoid punishment. This captures exactly what the prompt describes—actions prompted by outcomes outside the activity itself, like money, grades, praise, or fear of consequences. Intrinsic motivation, by contrast, would come from internal satisfaction, interest, or enjoyment. Incentive theory explains how external incentives influence behavior, but it refers to the broader mechanism rather than the specific type of motivation. Motivation alone is too broad to identify whether it’s driven by external rewards or internal interest. So the best fit here is extrinsic motivation, since the motivation is tied to outside rewards or avoiding negative outcomes.