Extrinsic rewards undermine altruistic tendencies in 20-month-olds.

The current study investigated the influence of rewards on very young children's helping behavior. After 20-month-old infants received a material reward during a treatment phase, they subsequently were less likely to engage in further helping during a test phase as compared with infants who had previously received social praise or no reward at all. This so-called overjustification effect suggests that even the earliest helping behaviors of young children are intrinsically motivated and that socialization practices involving extrinsic rewards can undermine this tendency. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A canonical correlation of fire protective behaviors and beliefs

The use of a multivariate procedure is demonstrated in the analysis of a survey of various firesafety actions and beliefs in a college student population. A canonical correlation analysis identified three significant factors and revealed that performing a safety inspection of one's residence for potential hazards was associated with beliefs in one's personal efficacy in handling fire situations, whereas engaging in more emergency-related actions such as checking to see if one's smoke detector was working properly, knowing the emergency telephone number, having it posted by the telephone, and knowing two exits out of each area of the home was related to beliefs of susceptibility and seriousness concerning fires. A third factor revealed an association between having a sprinkler system (but not a fire extinguisher) present in the place of residence, vacuuming the dust from a smoke detector, and having ever practiced an emergency escape with beliefs reflecting susceptibility to future (but not present) fire hazards, adequacy of firesafety knowledge, and beliefs in the effectiveness of firesafety inspections. It is shown that the results of this analysis can be quite useful in guiding the development of firesafety education materials; also, the need to differentiate the specific motivational approach depending upon the type of firesafety action being promoted with this particular population is revealed.     

Review of Behavior modification and coaching: Principles, procedures, and research.

Reviews the book, Behavior Modification and coaching: Principles, procedures, and research edited by Garry L. Martin and Dennis Hrycaiko (1983). The book is intended primarily for physical education students, but should be useful for already practising coaches as well. It is divided into seven sections. The first two introduce the reader to behavioural principles and techniques as they apply to coaching. The second chapter, is a very concise review, whereas other chapters contain statements that beg for substantiation. Sections three and four illustrate applications with respect to skill and motivation. Section five introduces cognitive behavioural techniques that help alleviate anxiety and enhance performance under competitive conditions. The penultimate section is concerned with the performance of the coach, and the final chapter points to recent literature and directions for future research. For the readership to whom the book is addressed, the reviewer greatly suspects that many will find it strongly influential. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Learning about being critical

Abstract. This short paper is a response to the article by McGrath in this issue which argues that information systems (IS) researchers need to be more explicit about 'being critical'. I accept her point, and I use this paper to offer a sketch of my personal journey in learning about criticality, and some thoughts from where I am now on various aspects of carrying out critical IS research.     

Supporting students' motivation, engagement, and learning during an uninteresting activity.

The present study examined the capacity of 2 different theoretical models of motivation to explain why an externally provided rationale often supports students' motivation, engagement, and learning during relatively uninteresting learning activities. One hundred thirty-six undergraduates (108 women, 28 men) worked on an uninteresting 20-min lesson after either receiving or not receiving a rationale. Participants who received the rationale showed greater identified regulation, interest-enhancing strategies, behavioral engagement, and conceptual learning. Structural equation modeling was used to test 3 alternative explanatory models to understand why the rationale produced these benefits--an identified regulation model based on self-determination theory, an interest regulation model based on interest-enhancing strategies research, and an additive model that integrated both models. The data fit all 3 models; however, only the model that included rationale-enhanced identified regulation uniquely fostered students' engagement and hence their learning. Findings highlight the role that externally provided rationales can play in helping students generate the autonomous motivation they need to engage constructively in and learn from uninteresting, but personally important, lessons. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Trading goods versus sharing money: An experiment testing whether fairness and efficiency are frame dependent.

Systematic experiments with distribution games have shown that participants are strongly motivated by considerations of fairness and efficiency. This evidence, however, results mainly from experimental designs in which money is shared directly. Furthermore, fairness does not necessarily require equal payoffs, but may instead require equal allocations. We investigate experimentally the frame dependency of reaching equal (commodity or payoff) splits by systematically comparing net-trade proposals and payoff proposals for the same exchange economy with two traders, two commodities and multi-period negotiations. We can confirm the hypothesis that asking participants to allocate money directly, rather than more naturally via the allocation of commodities, is far from being harmless and likely overstates fairness and efficiency concerns. What is more, we try to apply the insights gained from our experiment to management problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

认知失调理论对唠叨言语行为的阐释

唠叨是一种特殊的言语活动.其语用特点是说话繁复,而且通常会使用高量值的情态词或一些修辞手段来增强语力.这与言语交际的一般语用原则是相悖的.听者对于唠叨的反应要么是被动地作出简短的肯定回答,要么是用言语进行反抗或辩驳,或者是无奈地作无言语应答.说者行为背后的动机是为了求得认知上的协调.而听者行为背后的动机则是为了减少或消除自己在被唠叨时所体验到的认知失调以达到认知协调.     

The effects of praise on children's intrinsic motivation: A review and synthesis.

The authors argue against a purely behavioral definition of praise as verbal reinforcement in favor of the view that praise may serve to undermine, enhance, or have no effect on children's intrinsic motivation, depending on a set of conceptual variables. Provided that praise is perceived as sincere, it is particularly beneficial to motivation when it encourages performance attributions to controllable causes, promotes autonomy, enhances competence without an overreliance on social comparisons, and conveys attainable standards and expectations. The motivational consequences of praise also can be moderated by characteristics of the recipient, such as age, gender, and culture. Methodological considerations, such as including appropriate control groups and measuring postfailure outcomes, are stressed, and directions for future research are highlighted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ventral tegmental area dopamine neurons mediate the shock sensitization of acoustic startle: A potential site of action for benzodiazepine anxiolytics.

Dopamine (DA)-containing neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) are thought to play an important role in fear motivation. The primary objective of the present study was to determine the connection between DA D?, gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA)A, and benzodiazepine receptors in the VTA and footshock-associated emotionality. Microinfusion of the DA D? receptor agonist quinpirole, the GABAA receptor agonist muscimol, and the benzodiazepine receptor agonist flurazepam into the VTA was observed to suppress the shock enhancement of acoustic startle amplitudes. None of the drugs depressed baseline startle responding or footshock reactivity. The results indicate the involvement of VTA DA neurons in the fear-arousing properties of footshock and implicate the VTA as a possible neural site for the anxiolytic actions of benzodiazepines. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and job performance: Test of the mediating effects of motivation among sales representatives.

Research shows consistent relations between personality and job performance. In this study the authors develop and test a model of job performance that examines the mediating effects of cognitive-motivational work orientations on the relationships between personality traits and performance in a sales job (N=164). Covariance structural analyses revealed proximal motivational variables to be influential mechanisms through which distal personality traits affect job performance. Specifically, striving for status and accomplishment mediate the effects of Extraversion and Conscientiousness on ratings of sales performance. Although Agreeableness was related to striving for communion, neither Agreeableness nor communion striving was related to success in this sales job. The importance of the proposed motivational orientations model is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)