self-reinforcement

n. Self-reinforcement entails motivation and regulation of one's behavior through selfdirected consequences. Self-reinforcement is rooted in personal standards of merit against which people judge their performances.

Self-reinforcement operates mainly through its motivational function. In the case of tangible self-motivators, people induce themselves to do things they would otherwise put off or avoid altogether by making tangible rewards conditional on given performance attainments. Self-evaluative reactions to one's performances serve as even more influential guides and regulators of one's behavior. The self-evaluative incentives take the form of anticipated self-satisfaction for attainments that fulfill valued standards and discontent with substandard performances. Human behavior is governed by the interplay of extrinsic and self-evaluative consequences. External outcomes are most likely to wield influence when they are compatible with self-evaluative ones. People experience conflicts of outcomes when they are rewarded for behavior they personally devalue. Another type of conflict arises when individuals are punished for activities they value highly. The relative strength of external and self-evaluative outcomes determines whether given courses of actions are pursued or abandoned. – AB