THE EFFECTS OF TYPE AND MEANING OF REWARDS AND POSTTEST INSTRUCTIONS ON CHILDREN'S "INTRINSIC MOTIVATION".
Item
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Title
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THE EFFECTS OF TYPE AND MEANING OF REWARDS AND POSTTEST INSTRUCTIONS ON CHILDREN'S "INTRINSIC MOTIVATION".
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Identifier
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AAI8319746
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identifier
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8319746
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Creator
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BLOM, DOKE E.
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Contributor
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Prof. Barry Zimmerman
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Date
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1983
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Education, Educational Psychology
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Abstract
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This study sought to examine the effects of extrinsic rewards on "intrinsic motivation." Three independent variables, each having two levels, were studied: type of reward (money and praise), meaning of reward (competence and performance), and posttest instructions (ambiguous and explicit). Six dependent variables were investigated: a behavioral measure of interest (free choice time), self-report measures of interest, causal attribution measures, slf-evaluation measures, self-efficacy measures, and puzzle completion time. The WISC block design puzzle served as the target activity, and drawing and reading were studied as non-target activities. The study consisted of four phases: the pretreatment phase, the reward treatment phases, immediate and delayed posttest phases. The subjects were 126 fifth graders from lower-middle class parochial schools in New York.;It was hypothesized that children rewarded for competence would more frequently select puzzles during free choice than would youngsters rewarded for performance regardless of the type of reward they were given. It was found that rewards for competence did improve children's puzzle choice when compared to rewards given for performance or to no-reward conditions. Youngsters rewarded for competence also displayed higher self-efficacy judgments, personal causal attributions, self-evaluations, and task interest ratings. The children's initial levels of interest in puzzles interacted with the other independent variables. When rewarded for competence, low-interest children increased their free choice of puzzles; whereas, high-interest youngsters were not adversely affected. When given rewards for performance, low-interest children displayed significant increases in puzzle choice but high-interest children showed a decrease that reversd somewhat after delay. Low-interest children given money chose puzzles more frequently than low-interest children given praise. Conversely, high-interest children given money were less likely to select puzzles than their counterparts given praise.;This study demonstrated that the type of reward given to children and the meaning of the reward differentially affected their measures of "intrinsic motivation." Individual differences in interest proved to be an important variable in determining the final results. Self-efficacy measures were only partially predictive of children's subsequent interest.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Education
