The relationship of group context and intelligence to the overjustification effect

Abstract

The purpose of this experiment was to examine the effects of group context and intelligence on the overjustification effect in first- and second-grade children. Fifty-two male and female subjects were randomly assigned to reward and control conditions and were tested in groups of three to six. Half the subjects received rewards for completing “connect-the-dot” pictures, and the other half received no reward. Time spent on the task, the number of dots connected, and the number of dots connected per second were recorded as measures of intrinsic motivation for the task. The results obtained indicated that extrinsic rewards had no effect on the children’s intrinsic motivation to perform on this task. It was also found that level of assessed intelligence and group context predicted task performance. The results suggest that group interaction may serve to neutralize the reported undermining effect of reward on intrinsic motivation. © 1983, The psychonomic Society, Inc.. All rights reserved.