Oddly, I've been pondering the intrinsic/extrinsic divide recently. I was seeing the same thing you are referring to, I believe. Easy example is traffic. People think it is something intrinsic to traffic that has them upset. That is clearly false, if I can go through the same traffic and not be upset.
So, firstly, is that essentially the same thing? And second, any good reading on this idea?
More close to extrinsic/intrinsic is the traffic problem itself.
Is traffic created by individuals, or is traffic created by a larger systematic effect?
If you have the first perspective, then you're likely to be upset at people and at the traffic. If you take the second perspective, you're likely to understand its true nature and possible ways of fixing it.
In my experience, the systematic perspective is almost always the correct one. Individuals are merely operating their best within their system. Exactly as in the original post with her fingers and the piano. Brilliant analogy.
We need more systems thinking, beyond just intrinsic/extrinsic understanding.
I don't know any good reading on the psychological effect you speak of, but good reading to start on systems thinking is Deming and go from there: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Edwards_Deming
So, firstly, is that essentially the same thing? And second, any good reading on this idea?