Intrinsic and extrinsic motivational orientations: Reward-induced changes in preference for complexity.

The following analysis was developed and tested: Individuals may approach an activity with either an intrinsic or an extrinsic motivational orientation. Intrinsic motivational orientations are characterized by preference for activities that are relatively complex, challenging, and entertaining. Extrinsic motivational orientations are characterized by preference for activities that are relatively simple, predictable, and easily completed. The introduction of task-continge nt reward fosters an extrinsic motivational orientation, and this orientation may carry over into subsequent interactions with the activity, even when the conditions that originally fostered that orientation are no longer present. To test this analysis, second-grade subjects in Study 1 played with a novel game of intermediate complexity in one of three conditions: no reward, task-noncontingent reward, or task-contingent reward. Only the latter condition was expected to produce an extrinsic motivational orientation. In a subsequent free-choice period, simple, intermediate, and complex versions of the game, as well as several other activities, were available. As predicted, contingent-reward subjects showed the strongest preference for the simple versions of the game, while no-reward subjects tended to prefer the intermediate version. Task-noncontingent-reward subjects showed a strong preference for the most complex version of the game. In Study 2, using a different task and older subjects, the effects of reward on simple and intermediate-complexity tasks were replicated. Further implications of these findings are discussed.

[1]  R. Karniol,et al.  Reward contingency and intrinsic motivation in children: A test of the delay of gratification hypothesis. , 1976 .

[2]  John W. Atkinson,et al.  Introduction: Motivation , 1964 .

[3]  S. Reiss,et al.  Overjustification, competing responses, and the acquisition of intrinsic interest. , 1975 .

[4]  Edward L. Deci,et al.  The hidden costs of rewards , 1976 .

[5]  D. Ruble,et al.  Competence and the overjustification effect: A developmental study. , 1979 .

[6]  Florian Znaniecki,et al.  The Polish Peasant in Europe and America. , 1960 .

[7]  E. Deci.  Effects of Externally Mediated Rewards on Intrinsic Motivation. , 1971 .

[8]  M. Lepper,et al.  Overjustification in a token economy. , 1976 .

[9]  N. A. Kramer,et al.  Informational versus Controlling Verbal Rewards , 1980 .

[10]  R. W. White.  Motivation reconsidered: the concept of competence. , 1959, Psychological review.

[11]  Zur Shapira,et al.  Expectancy determinants of intrinsically motivated behavior. , 1976 .

[12]  A. Kruglanski.  The endogenous-exogenous partition in attribution theory. , 1975 .

[13]  Thane S. Pittman,et al.  Initiating Play Activity of Children: The Moderating Influence of Verbal Cues on Intrinsic Motivation. , 1977 .

[14]  S. Harter.  Pleasure Derived from Challenge and the Effects of Receiving Grades on Children's Difficulty Level Choices. , 1978 .

[15]  Arie W. Kruglanski,et al.  The effects of extrinsic incentive on some qualitative aspects of task performance1 , 1971 .

[16]  J. Levine,et al.  Teacher and student perceptions : implications for learning , 1983 .

[17]  H. Harlow,et al.  Learning motivated by a manipulation drive. , 1950, Journal of experimental psychology.

[18]  Timothy W. Smith,et al.  Reward, distraction, and the overjustification effect , 1978 .

[19]  E. Deci.  INTRINSIC MOTIVATION, EXTRINSIC REINFORCEMENT, AND INEQUITY , 1972 .

[20]  Timothy W. Smith,et al.  Attribution of Causality and the Overjustification Effect , 1977 .

[21]  A. Kruglanski,et al.  Retrospective misattribution and task enjoyment , 1972 .

[22]  Teresa M. Amabile,et al.  Effects of external evaluation on artistic creativity. , 1979 .

[23]  W. R. Garner.  Applications of Information Theory to Psychology , 1959 .

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

[25]  K. Duncker,et al.  On problem-solving , 1945 .

[26]  W. Kessen,et al.  Age and uncertainty: Developmental variation in preference for variability☆ , 1964 .

[27]  The Mastery Hypothesis and the Overjustification Effect , 1982 .