Extrinsic Motivation (Praise, Grades, Positive Reinforcement)

Extrinsic Motivation METHODS

• Rewards
• Praise
• Contingencies
• Punishment
• Grades
• Recognition & awards
• Bribes

CHALLENGES

• Evaluative and judgmental – “I really like the way you did this” is still judgmental and put the ‘power’ in the hands of adult. What does it feel like to be judged?

• Dependency – “What will I get for doing this…” the reinforcement works so well they will only do the task if they get rewarded, and then the rewards need to increase to get the same result.

• Devaluation & Non-contingent reinforcement – “What does good job mean?” Praise comes across as meaningless and insincere. Did you ever notice that students rarely if after respond to the praise statement.

• Reduces Self-Esteem: While increases “Other-Esteem” – “I’m good if someone tells me I’m good.” Produces students who judge themselves based on the view of other and reduces Self – Esteem.

• Fixed Mindset: Students begin to define themselves based on the judgements and evaluations of others. It creates a fixed mindset – “I’ve never been good at math…”

• Create rivalry and competition: When students hear other students get praise or rewards they judge themselves ‘less-than” and/or it creates rivalry, jealousy, and competition.Using praise to manipulate behavior in front of others can create an unsafe, competitive environment.  Look at the impact of sibling rivalry.

• Performance pressure and anxiety:
  Excessive praise can create unrealistic expectations and pressure to constantly perform well, leading to anxiety when facing challenges or potential setbacks.

• Decreased risk-taking:
  Fear of not meeting high expectations set by praise can make individuals less likely to try new things or take risks.

• Distorted self-perception:

  Overinflated praise can create an inaccurate self-image, potentially leading to arrogance or a sense of entitlement. 
• Predominant Model – This is the predominant model of communicating feedback and it does not work. If it did students would have higher self-esteem, better grades, and improved academic achievement – do they? We invented behaviorism; it is the filter upon which we build teaching / learning. Kohn (1999)

HOW TO – ALTERNATIVES

Alternative to Praise Statements – Six ENCOURAGEMENT strategies:

• They teach you – “teach me how you did that…show me how you did that…show me so I can try.” Be a partner in their learning.

• Repeat – repeat back what the student says when asked about his/her. By repeating it shows you are listening and you care. It also leads to more conversation.

• Restate – almost the same as repeating, but with restating you add more meaning and you change the language of what they said. It again, is a good conversation starter and leads to discussion and analysis.

• Be specific and descriptive – “I noticed you did this, then this…” describe what the student did. Then ask clarifying questions; “tell me more about how and why?”

• Ask an Open-Ended Question – “tell me what you have been doing…or thinking”. Often good to repeat back or restate what they said. This question is a bridge to reflection and analysis.

• Goal & Choices – Encourage the student to plan ahead and establish a goal. “what is your next step? What do you want to accomplish next?” Establishing goals and choices lead to intrinsic motivation. Kohn (1999)

How to Facilitate Intrinsic Motivation

• focus instruction based on students strengths and interests

• Offer choices and encourage planning and decision making

• Instead of praising a student, ask them to describe what they are doing and how they are doing it – then the teacher repeats back and reflects on what student says

• Be a partner in students work; have them lead; have them teach you and each other what to do, why, and how to solve problems.

WHAT NOT TO DO

• Don’t reward tasks students already enjoy. Offering prizes, stickers, or points for activities students find inherently interesting (reading a book they love, an open-ended creative project) tends to backfire — the reward crowds out the intrinsic interest.academic.oup

• Don’t announce rewards in advance (“if you finish this, you’ll get…”). Expected, contingent rewards do the most damage. Unexpected rewards or informational praise given after the fact don’t carry the same undermining effect PMC, Psychology Notes HQ.pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih+1

• Don’t rely on tangible/task-completion rewards for high-interest work. Engagement-contingent and completion-contingent rewards showed the strongest negative effect sizes in Deci’s meta-analysis (d = -0.40 and -0.36).pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih

• Don’t use rewards as a control tactic. Rewards framed as “do this or else” or used to control behavior (rather than communicate information about competence) undermine motivation more than rewards framed as recognition of mastery.tipsforteachers.substack

• Don’t over-reward routine compliance (gold stars for turning in homework, class pizza parties for quiet behavior). This teaches students to ask “what’s in it for me?” instead of building internal standards, and makes classroom management harder over time, not easier. Smart Classroom Management, Teach Daily .teachdaily+1

• Don’t lean on rewards long-term as a substitute for building genuine engagement. Daniel Pink’s synthesis (cited via KQED MindShift) lists seven downsides: rewards can cripple intrinsic motivation, limit performance, squash creativity, stifle good conduct, promote cheating, become habit-forming, and encourage short-term thinking.

Nuance – When Extrinsic Motivation?

The effect has real boundary conditions, so it’s not “never use any reward”:

• Low-interest or tedious tasks (rote drills, chores) are not harmed by rewards, and rewards can genuinely help there.pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih

• Verbal, informational praise (specific, honest feedback about the work) tends to enhance rather than undermine motivation, unlike tangible rewards.pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih

Practical Advice