Motivers

Motivers are a broad category of stimuli, agents, or design elements intended to increase motivation or drive action in individuals or groups. In contemporary motivation research and behavior design, motivers can be intrinsic or extrinsic, and they may take the form of tools, practices, social cues, or environmental conditions that prompt initiation, persistence, or intensification of an activity.

The term motiver is a neologism formed from motive and the agent noun suffix -er. It is used in some academic and professional writings to refer to factors that activate or sustain motivation, rather than to a single underlying mechanism.

Common types include intrinsic motivators such as meaning, curiosity, and mastery; extrinsic motivators such as rewards, grades, or status signals; social motivators such as peer approval or competition; and environmental motivators such as task structure, autonomy, and timely feedback. Examples include giving purposeful goals, enabling choice, providing feedback, and incorporating progress indicators or gamified elements.

Applications span education, workplace design, health behavior change, and public policy. When applied thoughtfully, motivers support learning, performance, and persistence while aligning with broader values and long-term outcomes.

Critiques focus on measurement challenges, potential motivation crowding where external incentives undermine intrinsic interest, and ethical questions about manipulation and autonomy.

See also: Motivation, Behavioral design, Incentive, Gamification, Self-determination theory.