Asymmetrical consequences of behavioral change through reward and punishment

Previous research (Greitemeyer & Weiner, 2003) has demonstrated that compliance, because of an anticipated reward is attributed more to the person than compliance because of an anticipated punishment. The present research extended these findings to an educational context. Three studies revealed that parents who ask their children to change inappropriate behaviors are more likely to ascribe their children's improvement to the child, if the child was promised a reward, rather than threatened, to receive a punishment if the child did not improve. Moreover, because a child's improved behavior is more likely to be ascribed to the child given a reward as compared to a punishment, parents expect that rewards (as opposed to punishments) are more likely to sustain improved behavior, when the incentive is no longer offered. Finally, participants report to be more likely to induce behavioral change through reward rather than punishment. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

[1]  Reexamining Bases of Power From an Attributional Perspective1 , 1998 .

[2]  K. Vohs,et al.  Case Western Reserve University , 1990 .

[3]  W. Meyer,et al.  The informational value of evaluative behavior: Influences of praise and blame on perceptions of ability. , 1979 .

[4]  G. Wells.  Asymmetric attributions for compliance: Reward vs punishment , 1980 .

[5]  B. Weiner.  Judgments of Responsibility: A Foundation for a Theory of Social Conduct , 1995 .

[6]  A. Kohn.  Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A'S, Praise, and Other Bribes , 1999 .

[7]  W D Pierce,et al.  Effects of reward on intrinsic motivation--negative, neutral and positive: comment on Deci, Koestner, and Ryan (1999) , 1999, Psychological bulletin.

[8]  W D Pierce,et al.  Pervasive negative effects of rewards on intrinsic motivation: The myth continues , 2001, The Behavior analyst.

[9]  B. Skinner,et al.  Science and human behavior , 1953 .

[10]  Aroldo Rodrígues.  Attribution and Social Influence1 , 1995 .

[11]  E. Thorndike.  Educational psychology, Vol 2: The psychology of learning. , 1913 .

[12]  Kenneth L. Hoving,et al.  The effectiveness of reward and punishment contingencies on response inhibition , 1973 .

[13]  Timothy D. Wilson,et al.  Self-knowledge: its limits, value, and potential for improvement. , 2004, Annual review of psychology.

[14]  Carol Pilgrim,et al.  Science and Human Behavior at fifty. , 2003, Journal of the experimental analysis of behavior.

[15]  E. Deci,et al.  A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. , 1999, Psychological bulletin.

[16]  Charles H. Judd,et al.  The Fundamentals of Learning. Edward L. Thorndike , The Staff of the Division of Psychology of the Institute of Educational Research of Teachers College, Columbia UniversityHuman Learning. Edward L. Thorndike , 1933 .

[17]  Timothy D. Wilson,et al.  A model of dual attitudes. , 2000, Psychological review.

[18]  L. Darling-Hammond,et al.  American Council of Educators. To touch the future: Strengthening the preparation of teachers for the next century, 1999. Banks, J. A., & Banks, C. A. M. (2004). Multicultural education: Issues and perspectives. (5th Ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. , 2009 .

[19]  M. Lepper,et al.  Intrinsic Motivation and Extrinsic Rewards: A Commentary on Cameron and Pierce’s Meta-Analysis , 1996 .

[20]  B. Weiner.  An attributional theory of motivation and emotion , 1986 .

[21]  Effects of Reward and Coercion for Transgression Compliance on Judgments of Responsibility and Recommended Punishment , 2006 .

[22]  H. Kelley.  Attribution theory in social psychology , 1967 .

[23]  R. Nisbett,et al.  Undermining children's intrinsic interest with extrinsic reward: A test of the "overjustification" hypothesis. , 1973 .

[24]  G. Reeder,et al.  The attribution of morality. , 1983 .

[25]  Aroldo Rodrígues,et al.  Power Bases and Attribution in Three Cultures , 2003, The Journal of social psychology.

[26]  R. G. Ratliff,et al.  Interaction of reinforcement conditions and developmental level in a two-choice discrimination task with children , 1974 .

[27]  B. Weiner,et al.  Asymmetrical Attributions for Approach Versus Avoidance Behavior , 2003, Personality & social psychology bulletin.

[28]  Margo Adams Larsen,et al.  The art and science of disciplining children. , 2003, Pediatric clinics of North America.

[29]  R. Blount,et al.  Easier Said Than Done: What Parents Say They Do and What They Do During Children's Immunizations , 2000 .