The paper presents two experiments which test the "change in feelings of competence and self-determination" proposition of cognitive evaluation theory. This proposition states that when a person receives feedback about his performance on an intrinsically motivated activity this information will affect his sense of competence and…

The relative effectiveness of praise and group competition as motivating incentives affecting task persistence in young children was investigated. As predicted, competition was relatively more effective with 2nd graders than with kindergarten children, with boys than with girls, and with boring tasks than with more ego-involving tasks. However,…

This study investigated effects of dissonance and positive reinforcement as feedback mechanisms for altering the humanistic behavior of student teachers. The subjects were undergraduate education majors who were enrolled in a student teaching program. The student teachers were observed twice by their pupils using the Tuckman Teacher Feedback Form.…

A taxonomy of educational reinforcers is presented in the following categories: recognition, tangible rewards, classroom learning activities, classroom and school responsibilities, status indicators, incentive feedback, personal activities, social activities, relief from aversive policies or procedures, and relief from aversive classroom…

This document reports the results of a 6-month investigation into the possibility of instituting operational incentive systems in schools. An experiment is suggested that would examine the effects of a wide range of monetary and nonmonetary rewards on students, teachers, administrators, and parents based on demonstrated gains in student…

Results of this study provided indirect support for Marshall's (1965) Hypothesis with regard to the informational versus motivational properties of punishment (punishment of specific responses has discriminative or informative value, whereas punishment applied to the situation may have primary motivational value). (Author)

After measuring the amount of disruptive behavior exhibited by nine kindergarten children, delayed feedback paired with contingent access to play was found to be most effective in reducing disruptive behavior. (Author)

Research performed in part under Contract OEC-3-6-061784-0508 with the U.S. Office of Education.

An experiment was conducted to clarify the relations between affect and altruism by inducing affect directly. It was hypothesized that children who experienced positive affect would share more than controls, while those experiencing negative affect would share significantly less than controls. Ss were 25 girls and 18 boys from the second and third…

Goal setting is a motivational technique effective in many subject matter areas with students of various grades and abilities. This paper describes the use of individual goal-setting conferences to increase learning in various subject matter areas. The technique includes a weekly individual conference in which the student is given the opportunity…

The educational implications discussed emphasized the efficacy of adapting feedback to the individual student. (Author)

Examines the effects of reward contingency and positive performance feedback on subsequent intrinsic motivation for an enjoyable task. Subjects were 93 high school students. (CM)

Three experiments investigating variables related to the assessment and therapeutic functions of self-recording are reported. Monetary reinforcement and subject motivation were variables that enhanced the accuracy of self-monitoring. Varying levels of feedback did not differentially affect accuracy. The implications of the findings are discussed.…