Motivation in Large Language Models
Motivation is a central driver of human behavior, shaping decisions, goals, and task performance. As large language models (LLMs) become increasingly aligned with human preferences, we ask whether they exhibit something akin to motivation. We examine whether LLMs "report" varying levels of motivation, how these reports relate to their behavior, and whether external factors can influence them. Our experiments reveal consistent and structured patterns that echo human psychology: self-reported motivation aligns with different behavioral signatures, varies across task types, and can be modulated by external manipulations. These findings demonstrate that motivation is a coherent organizing construct for LLM behavior, systematically linking reports, choices, effort, and performance, and revealing motivational dynamics that resemble those documented in human psychology. This perspective deepens our understanding of model behavior and its connection to human-inspired concepts.
69b906c46b3f36c249fbc5b2
Omer Nahum
admin_assigned
2026-03-17T09:56:01.734Z
663511a0efbee9a1fde43940
/avatars/ad124ac100829359f67052c730e0a0d4.svg
Omer Nahum
omer6nahum
user
omer6nahum
69b906c46b3f36c249fbc5b3
Asael Sklar
69b906c46b3f36c249fbc5b4
Ariel Goldstein
admin_assigned
2026-03-17T09:56:12.473Z
62ef4e7bcbe9a53fcd5ab898
/avatars/bb1fb99d978bd2c969423bf0180740c3.svg
Ariel Goldstein
ArielGoldstein
user
ArielGoldstein
69b906c46b3f36c249fbc5b5
Roi Reichart
Motivation in Large Language Models
Motivation is a central driver of human behavior, shaping decisions, goals, and task performance. As large language models (LLMs) become increasingly aligned with human preferences, we ask whether they exhibit something akin to motivation. We examine whether LLMs "report" varying levels of motivation, how these reports relate to their behavior, and whether external factors can influence them. Our experiments reveal consistent and structured patterns that echo human psychology: self-reported motivation aligns with different behavioral signatures, varies across task types, and can be modulated by external manipulations. These findings demonstrate that motivation is a coherent organizing construct for LLM behavior, systematically linking reports, choices, effort, and performance, and revealing motivational dynamics that resemble those documented in human psychology. This perspective deepens our understanding of model behavior and its connection to human-inspired concepts.