There are six types of motivation. Take this interactive quiz to learn yours and boost your success at work

Are you driven by autonomy, recognition, wealth, comfort, security or friendship? Knowing your motivational style could help you realise your goals.

Pursuing a goal can sometimes feel like climbing a mountain. The peak seems deceptively close when you set out on your journey. Halfway through, however, and it may feel no nearer. You’re hungry, thirsty and out of breath, while scrambling up increasingly steep and slippery slopes. The temptation to give up is all too real – and the only thing keeping you on that path is your motivation. 

Psychologists define motivation as "the impetus that gives purpose or direction to behaviour". It is known to come in various flavours – ranging from curiosity to fame and fortune. Some people enjoy the physical strain that comes from climbing a mountain; others might be aiming for the view or the buried treasure at its peak.

The psychologist Ian MacRae and I have designed an anonymised study which aims to investigate the ways people manage their motivation and its consequences. Anyone can take the quiz – the questions should take just a few minutes to complete, after which you will receive a personalised report that tells you what your primary source of motivation is in the workplace. Just click here and find out whether you are a Self Starter, driven by autonomy; a High Flier, driven by public recognition; a Bridge Builder, driven by social affiliation; a Wealth Builder, driven by financial compensation; a ChillMaxxer, driven by flexible and convenient conditions, or a Solid Grounder, seeking stability.

The aim is self-awareness: by recognising what fuels your fire, you will be able to identify the best strategies to feed those flames. What follows is an explanation of the science behind the study, and some tips on the ways that you can put your new-found knowledge into practice. 

Human behaviour is driven both by internal and external forces. A student, for example, may read a book on physics because they are curious, or because a teacher has told them that they must do so, to avoid getting a detention. A tennis player, meanwhile, may hit the court for the sheer pleasure of the game, or because they have been pressured into it by a pushy parent. Our goals may also be influenced by society's broader expectations; we might seek promotion because we know that high status is valued by others, even if we have no real interest in the role and would be happier staying where we are; we may desire six-pack abdominal muscles because of all the images of perfectly flat stomachs that we see in lifestyle magazines.

These two different kinds of drive are labelled as "intrinsic" and "extrinsic" motivations, and the difference is often marked by feelings of autonomy. Are you doing something because you genuinely want to do it, or because you feel that you have to do it?

According to "self-determination theory" (or SDT for short) the intrinsic "want to" motivators lead to better outcomes than the extrinsic "have to" motivators.

There is some good evidence to support this notion.

In a series of studies by Marina Milyavskaya, associate professor of psychology at Carleton University in Canada and colleagues, the researchers surveyed 344 undergraduates about their objectives for the next semester – which included getting good grades, finding a job, losing weight, or getting over their exes.

As self-determination theory predicts, those who listed intrinsic motivations made more progress than those who had been influenced by others' wishes or expectations. Crucially, their motivations – and therefore their success – seemed to be linked to their perceptions of the obstacles and temptations in front of them. Dieters were less likely to be distracted by fast food, for instance, if they felt like their decision to lose weight was a personal lifestyle choice, rather than something imposed on them by society.

In the workplace, people who are largely driven by intrinsic motivation tend to have greater wellbeing.

Real life is complicated, though. Our actions are rarely the product of a single motivation but may be swayed by many different factors. The challenge for psychologists was to identify what they are and how they vary between people. 

This was the question that our study's author – Ian MacRae – wanted to answer in a previous paper with Adrian Furnham, a professor of psychology at University College London, and Jessica Tetchner, a senior technician in human sciences at the University of Greenwich. To do so, they asked more than 750 professionals to rate 44 different factors that are known to contribute to job satisfaction, such as flexibility in the workday, intellectually stimulating tasks, or the potential to win a bonus for hard work.

Analysing the responses, MacRae and his colleagues found that people's values tended to fall into six distinct categories that were more or less important to each participant – three of which could be classed as intrinsic motivations, and three of which could be classed as extrinsic motivations.

The intrinsic motivators were:

Autonomy: An independent, engaged and active participation in the work that provides stimulation, self-expression and personal development.

Recognition: The visible signs of success, such as power, status, job title and public acknowledgement of what you have achieved. 

Affiliation:The sense of social connection that you gain through the work you do – through teamwork, mentoring and the sharing of ideas.

The extrinsic motivators were: 

Compensation: The material rewards such as pay, insurance and bonuses, as well as other job perks such as holiday allowance and the facilities within an office.

Conditions: The overall comfort of the job's requirements and its environment. This reflects the overall work-life balance offered by the organisation, and whether it requires you to compromise your other priorities.

Security:The predictability and regularity of the work, combined with your physical and psychological safety within the job. The sense of security could be influenced by the history of the organisation and its organisational culture; a 100-year-old business will be considered to have more security than a start-up. 

As MacRae and Furnham point out in their book Motivation and Performance, our motivation may shift with our circumstances. They found that younger people are a little more likely to be motivated by extrinsic factors such as compensation, whereas older people tend to report that intrinsic factors like autonomy matter more. These differences disappear, however, when you consider their current incomes.

That makes sense. If you're struggling to pay the rent, a higher salary has the potential to vastly improve your wellbeing, meaning that you may be more driven by the material benefits of a position. If you are already more comfortably well-off, you may look for other kinds of reward – such as the possibility of self-expression.

This framework is the basis for the BBC Motivation Study – and your personalised report will reveal which of the above drivers are most important for you. If your primary motivation is autonomy, you will be considered a Self Starter, for instance; if you are more focused on affiliation, you will find you are a Bridge Builder and so on. You'll also be told your scores on the other factors, and how you compared to the average participant.

With this knowledge, you might be better placed to identify any sources of dissatisfaction. When I took an early version of this study, I found that autonomy was one of my primary motivators: I am, apparently, a Self Starter. This was not entirely surprising, given that I am a freelance writer, but it also helped me to understand why some projects light my fire much more than others. I tend to prefer writing stories that I have discovered and pitched myself, rather than writing those handed to me by my editor. There is no objective reason for this – my editors often come up with brilliant ideas – but I prefer the sense of ownership that comes from that initial moment of inspiration, since it fits better with my overall motivational style.

I also scored fairly high on affiliation (Bridge Building) – which is harder to achieve when you work for yourself. Reading my report, however, I've realised that I should make a more conscious effort to incorporate this into my working week – by arranging regular meetups with other freelancers, for instance. Given the fact that our motivations can change with our circumstances, it may be worth bookmarking this page and retaking the quiz whenever you find your drive dwindling.

A better understanding of these different drivers may also be useful for team leaders and managers, who might consider whether they are serving the extrinsic motivators – compensation, conditions and security – that will no doubt be important to many employees. They might also find ways to appeal to the intrinsic motivators. Regularly communicating the broader purpose of a company, and emphasising the employee's role within that larger goal, can improve their sense of affiliation, for instance. Managers might also investigate strategies to give employees new opportunities for personal growth, which would enhance their sense of autonomy. 

Although the study and its personalised reports have been designed to measure workplace motivation, your answers may also suggest ways to increase your zeal in your personal life. If you would like to get fit, and affiliation (Bridge Building) is your most important motivator, you might do best to join a class rather than work out on your own. If you are a High Flier with recognition as your primary driver, however, you may get better results by signing up for a challenge – like running a half-marathon – that will bring you public glory at the end. 

Be sure to watch this space over the coming weeks: once we have collected and analysed the data, we will report back on the general results of the study, which should reveal more detailed information about the kinds of strategies that you might use to enhance your performance, depending on your motivational style. 

We will all have periods of apathy, when pursuing our goals can seem like an uphill struggle that is barely worth the effort. By recognising the specific values that drive us, however, we can soon shift ourselves out of our rut, so that we are ready to climb that mountain once more. 

* David Robson is an award-winning science writer and author. His latest book, The Laws of Connection: 13 Social Strategies That Will Transform Your Life, was published by Canongate (UK) and Pegasus Books (USA & Canada) in June 2024. He is @davidarobson onInstagram and Threads and writes the 60-Second Psychology newsletter on Substack.

** TAKE PART IN A BBC.COM STUDY: If you have five minutes, complete this short anonymous questionnaire and receive a personalised report about your motivational style. We'll analyse and publish the results on BBC.com later this year.

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