Meaning & use
extrinsic values
Last updated
Meanings
phrasepluraltechnical
Beliefs or goals that matter because of outside rewards or results, not because they are good in themselves.
Grammar: Plural phrase: extrinsic values are...; for one, say 'an extrinsic value'. It is usually used in academic writing.
Patterns
- extrinsic values are ...
- have extrinsic values
- based on extrinsic values
Students who study only for grades are driven by extrinsic values.
The company rewards sales targets, which encourages extrinsic values rather than care for customers.
Her research compares extrinsic values such as money and status with intrinsic values such as curiosity.
phrasepluraltechnicalformal
In ethics, things that are valuable only as a means to something else, not for their own sake.
Grammar: Plural phrase used in philosophy: money and fame are extrinsic values; honesty is often called an intrinsic value.
Patterns
- extrinsic values such as ...
- treat something as an extrinsic value
In this theory, money and fame are extrinsic values because they are wanted for what they bring.
Philosophers ask whether health is an intrinsic good or merely one of the extrinsic values.
Common combinations
- intrinsic and extrinsic values
- The course explores the difference between intrinsic and extrinsic values.
- driven by extrinsic values
- He works hard, but he is driven by extrinsic values like pay and praise.
- promote extrinsic values
- Some critics say advertising promotes extrinsic values in children.
- extrinsic values such as money
- The study measured extrinsic values such as money, image, and popularity.
Synonyms and how they differ
- instrumental values
- Used in philosophy and psychology for things valued as a means to an end; it is more technical and less common in everyday speech.
- external rewards
- Everyday phrase for the outside benefits themselves (pay, prizes), not for the beliefs about them.
Opposites
Word family
- extrinsically adverb
- In a way that comes from outside: extrinsically motivated.
- extrinsic adjective
- Coming from or relating to the outside: extrinsic motivation.
Commonly confused: extrinsic values or intrinsic values?
extrinsic values vs intrinsic values
These are the opposite: values that matter for their own sake, such as honesty or beauty. Do not mix up the prefixes 'extrinsic' (outside) and 'intrinsic' (inside).
Practice
Which sentence uses 'extrinsic values' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Extrinsic values are about outside rewards, so helping only for a reward fits. Option A describes an intrinsic value (kindness itself); option C wrongly uses 'intrinsic' for outside rewards; option D makes an absolute claim that the term does not support.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “extrinsic values”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.