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Over the past 30 years, many social psychologists have been critical of the practice of using incentive systems in business, education, and other applied settings. The concern is that money, high grades, prizes, and even praise may be effective in getting people to perform an activity but performance and interest are maintained only so long as the reward keeps coming. Once the reward is withdrawn, the concern is that individuals will enjoy the activity less, perform at a lower level, and spend less time on the task. The claim is that rewards destroy people's intrinsic motivation. Widely accepted, this view has been enormously influential and has led many employers, teachers, and other practitioners to question the use of rewards and incentive systems in applied settings. Contrary to this view, the research by Cameron and Pierce indicates that rewards can be used effectively to enhance interest and performance.
The book centers around the debate on rewards and intrinsic motivation. Based on historical, narrative, and meta-analytic reviews, Cameron and Pierce show that, contrary to many claims, rewards do not have pervasive negative effects. Instead, the authors show that careful arrangement of rewards enhances motivation, performance, and interest. The overall goal of the book is to draw together over 30 years of research on rewards, motivation, and performance and to provide practitioners with techniques for designing effective incentive systems.
List of contents
IntroductionAn Introduction to the Rewards and Intrinsic Motivation Controversy
Rewards and Intrinsic Motivation: A Look at the Early StudiesHow Rewards Got a Bad Reputation
Why Rewards Don't Deserve a Bad Reputation
Theoretical Disputes Over Rewards and Intrinsic MotivationTheoretical Perspectives of Rewards as Harmful
Theoretical Perspectives of Rewards as Helpful
The Empirical Evidence for the Impact of Rewards on Intrinsic MotivationAn Overview of Rewards and Intrinsic Motivation Experiments
A Critique of Meta-Analysis on the Effects of Rewards on Intrinsic Motivation
A Meta-Analyses of the Effects of Rewards on Intrinsic Motivation
Discussion and Implications of the Meta-Analytic Findings
Rewards and Intrinsic Motivation: A Socio-Historical PerspectiveA Socio-Historical Analysis of the Rewards and Intrinsic Motivation Literature
Practical Applications of RewardsThe Effective Use of Rewards in Everyday Life
ConclusionResolving the Controversy Over Rewards and Intrinsic Motivation
References
Index
About the author
JUDY CAMERON is Associate Professor of educational psychology at the University of Alberta.
W. DAVID PIERCE is Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Alberta, Director of the Centre for Experimental Sociology, and retired Adjunct Professor in the Department of Neuroscience (Medicine).
