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,…

A DESIGNED PROGRAM FOR PRESCHOOL AND KINDERGARTEN CHILDREN WHO HAVE NOT YET LEARNED TO READ AND WRITE WAS DESCRIBED. IT DEALT WITH NUMBER CONCEPTS AND NUMERALS AND USED A MULTIPLE CHOICE PICTORIAL FORMAT. IN THE TYPICAL PROGRAMED INSTRUCTION SITUATION, THE STUDENT READ A FRAME AND MADE A RESPONSE. WHEN HE MADE THE CORRECT RESPONSE, HE WAS INFORMED…

In order to investigate the effect of reinforcement on learning, 21 disadvantaged black children, 4 to 5 years of age, were divided among three treatment groups. Group I children received only feedback (information) as to the correctness or incorrectness of their responses. Group II children received a raisin for each correct response, and group…

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…

Argues, in response to Kohn's article in the same "Kappan" issue, that honest feedback on student performance (informational rewards) are usually necessary for initial learning to occur successfully. Some rewards do work and have long-term benefits. The current philosophy of assigning teachers a facilitative role renders them impotent and blames…

In this article, the author describes how Cato-Meridian, a 450-student rural high school in the New York State, successfully implemented a new cocurricular eligibility policy that integrated after-school activities with student academic accountability. The program created data that drove decisions about student life and student-teacher interaction…

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

Within the area of attribution theory, an overjustification effect is inferred if, following reward for an intrinsically interesting activity, individuals subsequently show less interest in that activity than comparable individuals who receive no reward. In an attempt to isolate the overjustification effect, 60 college students (30 male, 30…

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)

Students in four university classes in educational psychology were used as the target population to study the effect of two factors, degree of effort exerted studying a subject, and written feedback from the instructor, on the cognitive and affective attitudes these students formed toward the subject and their assignments. The students, unaware…

No significant difference was found between elementary students' reading development in control groups and in classes whose teachers had one of three feedback/incentive conditions: monitoring, verbal reinforcement, and monetary rewards. (MM)

Asserts that most persons use too little positive reinforcement in interpersonal dealings. Outlines and comments on a four-stage lesson plan (involving introduction, social interchange, discussion of experience, and summary/conclusion) which is designed to allow participants to experience how they use positive reinforcement in contacts with…