Intrinsic Value

Incentives and intrinsic value are both things that push people to complete an activity or behave a certain way; the only difference is the reasoning for doing so. Incentives act as motivation or encouragement in order to receive a reward while intrinsic value offers nothing more than the enjoyment or satisfaction that comes from the task in itself. There is controversy as to whether incentives diminish the intrinsic value placed on an experience. Personally, I have faced many situations where the imposition of an incentive on a task or activity has lessened the intrinsic value that comes with the experience. One particular activity that has greatly affected me throughout my high school years is the incentive to be involved in extracurricular

I looked forward to attending practice and I never missed a meet. I was excited to be apart of the team and I found happiness in doing so. This experience was much different than what I encountered with high school track. The environment and circumstances in middle school differed greatly from those in high school, which lead to a change in my viewpoint of the sport. In middle school there was much less pressure riding on the activity; if I didn 't like it or was not enjoying it I could quit the sport and there would be no long-term effects. Nothing was pushing me to participate in middle school track except my own desire to do so, and that was the major difference between middle school and high school sports. Once I began to see track as my ticket into my college of choice, I began to lose sight of the actual reason that I should be participating in extracurricular activities. As a high school student, I should have been able to choose whether I wanted to participate in a sport or not; that should have been a decision that was merely based on my desire to spend my time becoming a better athlete. Rather the reason was due to the emphasis that college admission decisions place on involvement outside of the classroom setting. This incentive can cause many people, including myself, to spend their time doing things merely for the reward or outcome. Not only will