Need for cognition and desire for control as moderators of extrinsic reward effects: A person?×?situation approach to the study of intrinsic motivation.

74 Ss in extrinsic-reward or no-reward conditions completed a brainstorming task and then were left alone with the option to engage in additional versions of this task. If the Need for Cognition (NFC) Scale taps intrinsic motivation for effortful cognition (J. T. Cacioppo and R. E. Petty, 1982), the optional task engagement of high-NFC Ss, but not low-NFC Ss, should be undermined by extrinsic reward. Results confirmed this hypothesis, but regression analyses showed that NFC scores' moderation of reward effects was due to their covariation with scores on the Desire for Control Scale (J. M. Burger and H. M. Cooper, 1979). The data suggest that (1) NFC involves intrinsic motivation for effortful cognitive processing, (2) NFC may predict such processing mainly in contexts with minimal extrinsic incentives for processing, and (3) control motivation may be related causally both to extrinsic undermining effects and to individual differences in NFC. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Radical and incremental creativity: Antecedents and processes.

This study extends creativity theory and research by differentiating between 2 distinct forms of creative performance: radical and incremental. It also examines the differential effects of certain antecedents on these two forms of creativity. Results demonstrate that intrinsic motivation, problem-driven, and abstract theory-related creative ideas are associated mostly with radical creativity, whereas extrinsic motivation and ideas that are solution-driven and developed on the basis of concrete practices are linked more closely to incremental creativity. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Overjustification and children's intrinsic motivation: Comparative effects of four rewards.

Studied the relative overjustifying effects of various types of rewards on 30 boys' and 30 girls' (mean ages 72.6 and 72.4 mo, respectively) intrinsic motivation. Four reward procedures were examined—tangible, verbal, symbolic, and self-administered symbolic (self) rewards. Ss attempted to solve mazes under 1 of 5 training conditions and were then given a free-play period in which to engage in further maze play or try other materials. Ss receiving tangible rewards and those who self-administered symbolic rewards (self-reward) showed less subsequent intrinsic motivation than Ss in the control, verbal reward, and symbolic reward conditions. Moreover, internal locus-of-control expectancies (Stanford Preschool Internal–External Scale) were inversely related to intrinsic motivation for Ss in the self-reward condition. Results are discussed from 2 perspectives—the intrinsic–extrinsic reward continuum and E. L. Deci's (1975) distinction between the controlling (detrimental) and informational (competence- and motivation-enhancing) aspects of rewards. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Incremental effects of reward on creativity.

The authors examined 2 ways reward might increase creativity. First, reward contingent on creativity might increase extrinsic motivation. Studies 1 and 2 found that repeatedly giving preadolescent students reward for creative performance in 1 task increased their creativity in subsequent tasks. Study 3 reported that reward promised for creativity increased college students' creative task performance. Second, expected reward for high performance might increase creativity by enhancing perceived self-determination and, therefore, intrinsic task interest. Study 4 found that employees' intrinsic job interest mediated a positive relationship between expected reward for high performance and creative suggestions offered at work. Study 5 found that employees' perceived self-determination mediated a positive relationship between expected reward for high performance and the creativity of anonymous suggestions for helping the organization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Performance and motivational deficits of helplessness: The role of motivational orientations.

Examined the hypothesis that the effect of failure feedback in producing learned helplessness would depend on the motivational orientation of a child. 53 4th–6th graders completed a scale of intrinsic vs extrinsic orientation in the classroom and were randomly assigned to success, failure, or control conditions, with the restriction that an approximately equal number of Ss with different motivational orientations were assigned to the different conditions. Extrinsically motivated Ss were predicted to exhibit performance decrement following a failure experience, whereas the opposite was predicted for intrinsically motivated Ss. Success feedback was predicted to enhance subsequent performance only for the intrinsic group. Following success, failure, or no feedback on an activity reflecting spatial skills (an incomplete picture task), Ss' performance on an activity tapping different skills (i.e., anagrams) provided by a 2nd experimenter served as the primary measure of helplessness. Ss' intrinsic motivation in performing the incomplete picture task, a similar task (embedded figures) and a dissimilar task (dots-to-dots) was also examined. Results support the predictions on both performance and intrinsic motivation measures. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Field independence and articulation of sources of job satisfaction.

Hypothesized that analytic (field independent) and global (field dependent) perceivers would differ in their ability to differentiate among intrinsic and extrinsic sources of job satisfaction. Ss were 96 civil service supervisors who completed a Group Embedded Figures Test and the Wernimont job-satisfaction questionnaire. Results show that for global perceivers intrinsic and extrinsic satisfactions correlated substantially with each other and with overall job satisfaction while for analytical perceivers intrinsic and extrinsic satisfactions were independent and, as expected, only intrinsic satisfaction correlated with overall job satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of external evaluation on artistic creativity.

Examined the conditions under which the imposition of an extrinsic constraint upon performance of an activity can lead to decrements in creativity. 95 female undergraduates worked on an art activity either with or without the expectation of external evaluation. In addition, Ss were asked to focus on either the creative or the technical aspects of the activity or they were given no specific focus. Finally, some Ss expecting evaluation were given explicit instructions on how to make their artworks. As predicted, Ss in the evaluation groups produced artworks significantly lower on judged creativity than did Ss in the nonevaluation control groups. The only evaluation group for which this pattern was reversed had received explicit instructions on how to make artworks that would be judged creative. A possible reconciliation of these 2 disparate results is proposed, and practical implications are discussed. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-monitoring of attained subgoals in private study.

Compared 3 conditions of self-monitoring of private study for their effects on academic performance and intrinsic motivation. Ss were 240 1st-yr college students who were divided among high, moderate, and low achievers. Within each group, Ss were assigned to 1 of 4 study conditions: self-monitor subgoal condition, self-monitor time-on-study condition, self-monitor distal-goal condition, and control condition. In end-of-year examinations, Ss who self-monitored subgoals outperformed Ss who self-monitored either time or study or distal goals on the target course of the investigation. Furthermore, although Ss who self-monitored duration of study actually spent significantly longer on study, their examination performance was not significantly better than that of control Ss. Besides the beneficial effects on learning, subgoal self-monitoring enhanced intrinsic interest in the target course, as evidenced from Ss' ratings. Requiring Ss to turn in samples of study notes did not have an impact on examination performance; however, this requirement interacted with study condition in its effect on intrinsic interest. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Increasing intrinsic interest with superfluous extrinsic constraints.

When people are given extrinsic reasons not to perform an activity they had little interest in to begin with, intrinsic interest in the activity may increase. It is argued that this is an overjustification phenomenon. In Study 1, 31 children (aged 4.1–8.6 yrs) were told that they could not play with an unattractive toy motorcycle. Control Ss were allowed to play with whatever toy they chose, although few played with the motorcycle. Ss told not to play with the motorcycle showed more interest in this toy at a 2nd session with a different experimenter than did controls. In Study 2, 19 undergraduates were given either a severe threat, mild threat, or no threat not to cheat in a situation in which there was minimal motivation to cheat. Ss in the threat conditions were significantly more likely to cheat on an intelligence test several days later in a different setting. Alternative explanations for these findings (e.g., reactance) are considered, and the implications of the use of superfluous extrinsic controls are discussed. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Additivity versus nonadditivity of intrinsic and extrinsic incentives: Implications for work motivation, performance, and attitudes.

80 male Ss were randomly assigned to either an intrinsically appealing or an intrinsically nonappealing assembly task. Half of the Ss were paid according to a highly salient, continuous, contingent reward schedule, while the other half were paid according to an extremely noncontingent payment schedule. Thus, 20 Ss worked for both intrinsic and extrinsic incentives, 20 for extrinsic only, 20 for intrinsic only, and 20 for minimal incentives of either type. Data on 4 dependent variables (performance, intrinsic motivation, orientation toward the task, and intrinsic satisfaction) provided convergent support for E. L. Deci's (see record 1968-02190-001) hypothesis that intrinsic and extrinsic incentives are not additive in determining attitudes and behavior. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Latent Motivational Change in an Academic Setting: A 3-Year Longitudinal Study.

This research examined changes in intrinsic and extrinsic motivation during the transition from junior to senior high school as well as the impact of motivational changes on various educational consequences (i.e., dropout intentions, absenteeism, homework frequency, and educational aspirations). A total of 646 participants completed a questionnaire in 8th, 9th, and 10th grade. Using the true intraindividual change modeling technique (R. Steyer, I. Partchev, & M. J. Shanahan, 2000), the authors reached results revealing that students' intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation decreased gradually from 8th to 10th grade. Furthermore, less educational adjustment was observed for students experiencing a decline in external regulation during the transitional year and students experiencing a decline in intrinsic motivation and identified regulation during the year after the transition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relations of children's motivation for reading to the amount and breadth or their reading.

The authors explored different aspects of children's reading motivation and how children's motivation related to the amount and breadth of their reading. The reading motives assessed included self-efficacy, intrinsic–extrinsic motivation and goals, and social aspects. Fourth- and 5th-grade children (N?=?105) completed a new reading motivation questionnaire twice during a school year. Children's reading amount and breadth were measured using diaries and questionnaires. Children's reading motivation was found to be multidimensional. Their motivation predicted children's reading amount and breadth even when previous amount and breadth were controlled. An intrinsic motivation composite predicted amount and breadth of reading more strongly than did an extrinsic motivation composite. Some aspects of girls' reading motivation were more positive than boys'. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Religious prosocial motivation: Is it altruistic or egoistic?

Two studies explored the nature of the motivation to help associated with 3 different ways of being religious: as an extrinsic means, an intrinsic end, and a quest. In Study 1, Ss learned that to help a needy person they would have to meet either an easy or difficult standard on a qualifying task. Volunteering when the standard was difficult, followed by trying harder on the task, indicated altruistic motivation; volunteering without trying harder indicated egoistic motivation. In Study 2, Ss presented with a request for help learned that either most or only a few previously asked peers had helped. No reduction in helping when fewer peers had helped indicated altruistic motivation; reduction indicated egoistic motivation. In both studies, the motivation associated with extrinsic means religion and intrinsic end religion seemed, if anything, egoistic. That associated with quest religion seemed possibly altruistic. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Undermining intrinsic moral motivation: External reward and self-presentation.

Investigated whether paying people for helping undermines an important source of intrinsic motivation to help—the internalized sense of moral obligation. Self-perception theory suggests that individuals paid to help will infer that they have engaged in this behavior for the reward and not for reasons intrinsic to helping. Previous research has failed to find an undermining of intrinsic motivation that could be traced to the perception that helping was overjustified. In the present study, it was hypothesized that people's desire to appear morally motivated may have prevented the detection of overjustification effects. A bogus pipeline procedure was used to convince Ss that their true attitudes could be tapped, so that they would refrain from socially desirable but inaccurate self-presentation. The design consisted of 2 measurement conditions—bogus pipeline and pencil-and-paper—crossed with 3 activity conditions in which the 60 undergraduate Ss recorded a text either to help a blind student for pay or with no reward or to provide material for a study of vocal intonations. As predicted, payment for help undermined the sense of moral obligation only in the bogus pipeline condition. Unpaid helpers in this condition showed enhanced intrinsic motivation. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effectiveness of western creative teaching methods in China: An action research project.

A total of 54 students from a design department in a Chinese higher education institution took part in a 7-week action research project, which was intended to test the efficacy of U.K. creative teaching approaches in the Chinese educational context. The study took the form of a quasi-field experiment. A creative pedagogic model developed in the U.K. was used to deliver the Chinese curriculum to a class of second-year Bachelor of Arts Graphic Design students (the experimental class), while another class of students with similar student composition (the control class) received the traditional Chinese model of education. Visual outcomes produced by students from the two classes before and during the teaching intervention were evaluated for overall creativity, originality, design quality, and experimental range. Levels of student effort, motivation, enjoyment, and confidence in experimentation were measured through a student questionnaire examining the impact of different pedagogic models on student creative abilities and other related attributes. Both quantitative and qualitative results suggest that the creative methods developed in the U.K. were highly effective in encouraging learner creativity and related attributes such as intrinsic motivation, enjoyment, and confidence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trust in close relationships.

Tested a theoretical model of interpersonal trust in close relationships with 47 dating, cohabiting, or married couples (mean ages were 31 yrs for males and 29 yrs for females). The validity of the model's 3 dimensions of trust—predictability, dependability, and faith—was examined. Ss completed scales designed to measure liking and loving, trust, and motivation for maintaining the relationship. An analysis of the instrument measuring trust was consistent with the notion that the predictability, dependability, and faith components represent distinct and coherent dimensions. The perception of intrinsic motives in a partner emerged as a dimension, as did instrumental and extrinsic motives. As expected, love and happiness were closely tied to feelings of faith and the attribution of intrinsic motivation to both self and partner. Women appeared to have more integrated, complex views of their relationships than men: All 3 forms of trust were strongly related, and attributions of instrumental motives in their partners seemed to be self-affirming. There was a tendency for Ss to view their own motives as less self-centered and more exclusively intrinsic than their partner's motives. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of extrinsic financial rewards on intrinsic motivation.

Utilized a chess-problem task to evaluate E. L. Deci's hypothesis that contingent extrinsic rewards will decrease intrinsic motivation. After observing the amount of time 28 undergraduates spent working on the task in a free period, one group was offered a financial incentive for performing the task while another group was not. One week later, Ss were again observed in a free period and then performed the task again with no financial incentive. Results support the hypothesis, and data that rule out specific methodological criticisms of Deci's paradigm are presented. Findings are discussed in terms of whether extrinsic rewards and motivation interact with intrinsic motivation. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitude change and justification for compliance.

"This experiment has tentatively illustrated some of the processes involved in creating and reducing psychological dissonance and the implications of such dissonance for attitude change in compliance situations. It was hypothesized that increased justification for taking an opinion position discrepant from one's private opinion would lead to decreased dissonance and therefore decreased attitude change toward the discrepant position. Ss were asked to write an essay taking a stand opposite to their initial opinion on a given issue. One group of Ss was then given a number of reasons for compliance with the request (high justification condition). For another group (low justification condition) Ss were given no detailed justification for writing the essay. Attitude change was determined from a postexperimental questionnaire… . Attitude change tended to be greater where manipulated (and perceived) justification was least." From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:1GD76C. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of fear of success on intrinsic motivation, causal attribution, and choice behavior.

Examined the extent to which fear of success (FOS) moderates effects of choice and task outcomes on intrinsic motivation, causal attribution, and subsequent choice behavior. 139 undergraduates worked either on puzzles of their choice or puzzles that were assigned to them and were then informed that they had performed either better or worse than the majority of other Ss. Measures of intrinsic motivation (task engagement during a free-choice period) and of attribution for performance were obtained. Ss then indicated how much choice they wanted to have over similar tasks that they were going to perform. Finally, Ss completed the Fear of Success Scale and a resultant achievement motivation measure. Results show that following success, low FOS Ss (in comparison to high FOS Ss) showed higher intrinsic motivation, made more internal attributions, and wanted to have more choice if initially they had been given choice and less choice if initially they had been given no choice. There were no significant differences between low and high FOS Ss following failure. Results could not be accounted for by resultant achievement motivation that was unrelated to FOS. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A new self-report scale of intrinsic versus extrinsic orientation in the classroom: Motivational and informational components.

Describes a learning orientation scale in which 5 dimensions are defined by an intrinsic and an extrinsic pole: preference for challenge vs preference for easy work, curiosity/interest vs teacher approval, independent mastery attempts vs dependence on the teacher, independent judgment vs reliance on the teacher's judgment, and internal vs external criteria for success/failure. The reliability and factorial validity of the scale have been adequately demonstrated. Additional validity studies with a total of 2,925 Ss in Grades 3–9 are reported. Higher-order factoring yielded 2 distinct clusters of subscales: The 1st 3 dimensions form 1 factor and are interpreted as more motivational in nature; the remaining 2 are viewed as more cognitive–informational in nature. Developmental data show that across Grades 3–9 there was a shift from intrinsic to extrinsic on the 1st motivational cluster. Conversely, there was a dramatic developmental shift from extrinsic to intrinsic on the cognitive–informational cluster. Interpretations for these developmental differences are advanced, and the educational implications are explored. The discussion focuses on the need to be precise in conceptualizing and operationalizing the term "intrinsic motivation." (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)