REWARD CONTINGENCY, STANDARDS, AND INTRINSIC MOTIVATION.
Item
-
Title
-
REWARD CONTINGENCY, STANDARDS, AND INTRINSIC MOTIVATION.
-
Identifier
-
AAI8515632
-
identifier
-
8515632
-
Creator
-
HYMAN, CYNTHIA.
-
Contributor
-
Barry J. Zimmerman
-
Date
-
1985
-
Language
-
English
-
Publisher
-
City University of New York.
-
Subject
-
Education, Educational Psychology
-
Abstract
-
The present study focused on the effect of differential presentation of rewards on children's subsequent perceptions of competency and subsequent levels of intrinsic interest in an enjoyable task. Reward contingency and standards were orthogonally manipulated. Rewards were presented either as contingent upon successful task performance (performance-contingent rewards), contingent upon task engagement (task-contingent rewards), or not presented (no rewards). Standards, defined as objective, non-normative and achievable, were presented prior to task engagement, or not presented. Ninety-six children were presented with the target task--a puzzle-like drawing activity predetermined to be of high initial interest. The reward, an award certificate personalized with the name and photo of the child, was presented according to experimental condition. Perceptions of competency were measured by questionnaires. Level of subsequent intrinsic interest was defined as time on target task during a free play period following the experimental manipulation. Data were analyzed by a prior contrasts, analysis of variance, and Pearson product-moment-correlations.;As hypothesized results indicated that both perceived personal competency and level of intrinsic interest were significantly higher when rewards were presented as performance-contingent and with standards provided, than when they were presented as task-contingent and without standards. Manipulation of reward contingency and standards yielded no statistically significant main effects on subsequent level of intrinsic interest. The pattern of results was interpreted as supporting the contention that reward contingency cannot independently predict subsequent levels of intrinsic interest in a target task. Presentation of standards as opposed to no standards, and presentation of a performance-contingent reward as opposed to a task-contingent reward had significant positive effects on perceived personal competence. The data were interpreted as consistent with the contention that perceived personal competence is a key intervening variable which is related to intrinsic interest in a task. The results were discussed in terms of implications for classroom application, including behavior modification programs.
-
Type
-
dissertation
-
Source
-
PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
-
degree
-
Ph.D.
-
Program
-
Educational Psychology
