Rewards

The use of rewards and reward systems are very common in schools. Teachers frequently use systems of rewards in order to promote appropriate behaviors and to increase academic output (Akin-Little & Little, 2009). Many questions remain about the effectiveness of rewards. Indeed, the important question is no longer whether rewards are effective or ineffective as it was a decade or so ago (Cameron & Pierce, 1994; Cameron, 2001; Deci, Ryan, and Koestner, 2001). Rather, assuming that teachers will use rewards, the question now is, how should rewards be used so that they are not harmful over time (Brophy, 2004; Lepper & Henderlong, 2000)? For whom and under what conditions are rewards effective? What are the long-term effects of rewards? What conditional aspects of rewards need to exist in order to increase intrinsic motivation? 

 

Introduced by B.F. Skinner, punishment has a more restrictive and technical definition. Along with reinforcement it belongs under the Operant Conditioning category. Operant Conditioning refers to learning with either punishment or reinforcement. It is also referred to as response-stimulus conditioning. In psychology, punishment is the reduction of a behavior via application of an adverse stimulus ("positive punishment") or removal of a pleasant stimulus ("negative punishment"). Extra chores or spanking are examples of positive punishment, while making an offending student lose recess or play privileges are examples of negative punishment. The definition requires that punishment is only determined after the fact by the reduction in behavior; if the offending behavior of the subject does not decrease then it is not considered punishment. There is some conflation of punishment and aversive, though an aversive that does not decrease behavior is not considered punishment in psychology.  Punishment is an aversive stimulus that occurs after some specific response and is intended to suppress that response.  Punishment can be anything that decreases the occurrence of a behavior: physical pain, withdrawal of attention, loss of tangibles or activities, a reprimand, or even something others would find rewarding but the particular individual does not like. (Azoulay,1999)

TYPES OF REWARDS

(i) “if-then“ means “If you do A, then you will get B.” 

This type of rewards is related to expected rewards. The expected rewards are, as their name implies, rewards that are assumed to be available, such as receiving a high grade because one has studied very hard.

(ii) “Now-that” means “Now that you have done A, you will get B.”

This type of rewards refer to unexpected rewards. This rewards  are given without notice; the recipient does not know that their behavior or action will be rewarded.

There are conflicting findings concerning whether or not expected and unexpected rewards are detrimental to intrinsic motivation and the desire to engage in a task. It appears that giving an expected reward for an already high interest task may undermine intrinsic motivation for completing that task.

However, giving a reward for a low interest task or a reward for high performance may actually increase intrinsic motivation. Furthermore, unexpected rewards may not negatively affect the decision to return to an interrupted task, whereas an expected reward may decrease that decision.

APPLICATION OF REWARDS IN EDUCATION

(1) Is delivered contingently.

Pairing a piece of candy (tangible reward) or verbal praise (intangible reward) with completing a class assignment may enhance performance of the class assignment and cause participants to feel competent because they completed the assignment.

(2) Specifies the particulars of the accomplishments.

That is, to be told “You’re a good test taker.” (the personal attribute is test taking) versus “You did a good job on this test.” (the performance is a “good job” on the test) can be detrimental to personality functioning and can decrease interest and performance.

(3) Shows spontaneity, variety, and other  signs of credibility; suggests clear attention to the students accomplishment.

- “you earned the honor of being class leader next week for accomplishing level 2 of the rubric, your best work yet.”

(4) Rewards attainment of specified performance criteria.

An intangible reward needs to be linked with performance, and not personal attributes .The positive effect were not found when children were rewarded only for task participation or task completion.

(5)  Provide information to the students about their competence or the value of their accomplishment.

By linking rewards to highest performance on a specific task or job, participants viewed the job as more interesting because performing well was highly valued.

(6) Orients students towards better appreciation of their own task –related behaviour and thinking about problem solving.

Rewards may increase achievement for simple learning tasks (i.e. spelling tests) versus achievement of more advanced tasks (i.e. intelligence tests). When rewards are given only for students participation, the importance of progress or improvement is not emphasized.

(7) Use students ‘ own prior accomplishment as the context for describing present accomplishment.

Individuals will stop performing if they perceive themselves as being undercompensated with relation to their efforts (input). However, if they feel unjustly overcompensated, (higher compensation to input ratio), they will continue to perform.

(8) Is given in recognition of noteworthy effort or success at difficult task.

Research has also shown that expected rewards given for engagement in a novel activity can decrease intrinsic motivation when compared to an unexpected reward given for the same novel task (Lepper & Greene, 1975). Expected rewards can also decrease task interest for individuals already showing high interest in the task and can undermine task performance (Loveland)

(9) Attributes success to effort and ability, implying that similar successes can be expected in the future.

Rewards may enhance feelings of competence and when linked to high performance (i.e. obtaining 4/5 correct answers versus obtaining 2/5 correct answers), they make individuals feel good about their performance. Furthermore, expected rewards may also enhance task interest for low interest tasks because the reward calls attention to the task and may make the task more desirable to individuals who were not previously interested or motivated to complete it .

(10) Foster endogenous  attributions (students that they expand effort on the task because they enjoy the task and /or want to develop task relevant skills)

In school systems, grading procedures could be viewed as falling under the inequity category. If the grading is normative (comparing one individual’s scores to their peers), only a small amount of students will receive the highest grades and not everyone will receive high marks due to individual differences. Both intrinsically motivated low and high performers strive for good grades and subsequently alter their behavior to obtain these marks (i.e. study more). Although low performers may not always achieve the same marks as their high performing peers, they still have a chance to get high scores and may be intrinsically motivated to obtain these. Thus, inequity in grading procedures may not be detrimental to intrinsic motivation because it causes everyone to strive for high performance

(11) Focuses students ‘ attention on their own task relevant behavior.

Reward have also been found to increase the amount of time spent on more difficult tasks versus easier tasks (Gear, 2008).

(12) Foster appreciation of and desirable attributions about task relevant behavior after the process is completed.

Performance-contingent rewards are given for a specific level of performance. Rewards are given for meeting or exceeding some set standard (Ryan et al., 1983). Intrinsic motivation can flourish when a reward is presented in such as manner as to convey the task’s importance or relevance, or fulfills an individual’s needs, wants, or desires.

 

GUIDELINES  FOR EXTRINSIC REWARDS

1) Sufficient Rewards

Avoid “scarcity of rewards” where only a few students get all of the reward including low achievers. For example: “students of the month”

2) Rewards for improvement .

When giving rewards, keep the focus on improvement rather than on ability. For example: rather than always giving awards only to those who make the highest grade, establish a reward system whereby students are routinely recognize for a ”personal best” or individual improvement.

3) Getting started

Extrinsic rewards can be used to get children started in an activity where there may not be much initial interest. If extrinsic rewards can be used to start children reading or playing an instrument, they may begin to experience new sources of motivation and enjoyment from the activity itself.

4) Fade out  extrinsic rewards

When extrinsic rewards are used, gradually diminish them, shifting the focus to a more intrinsic one when possible. This often happens when students gain competence in an area, and this increase ability becomes more satisfying than the rewards.

5) Public rewards

For example, use of charts reporting students accomplishment. All students who meet the desired criteria , such as passing a state-required proficiency test, could be given recognition

6) Combine rewards with other motivational strategies.

Rewards have been combined with other motivational strategies such as goal setting. The combination of rewards and goal setting provided maximum success for the students