Motivation: Origins of the Extrinsic/Intrinsic Debate

Abstract

SOJ Psychology Open Access Review Article financial incentives lost some of their popularity for use as rewards in many applied settings. As a graduate student in the early 1970s I clearly remember professors in several of my classes explaining that money " is not a good reinforcer to use, " and I never formally questioned this declaration. Instead, I just thought I was somewhat strange because money seemed to function very well, thank you, as a reward for my performance in various applied settings! It was not until several years ago, though, that I was sufficiently motivated to begin formally examining the empirical basis for the overjustification effect and whether the declaration that money is not a good reward for most people was viable. The setting event for this was the publication of a book by Harvard educator Alfie Kohn. Kohn takes the position (though he paints with a broader brush than most of the authors of the overjustification studies) that parents, teachers, employers, etc. should not use praise and other extrinsic rewards because they serve as punishment for the people who receive them. In effect, extrinsic reinforcement harms the intrinsic motivation of people.