Rewards cause people to lose interest in whatever they were rewarded for doing, undermining intrinsic motivation¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r1 · q2
Currency · newest study 1994 · checked against its sources 2026-10-22 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? In the kefir study, children rewarded for drinking an unfamiliar beverage found it significantly less appealing a week later, while unrewarded children liked it as much as or more than before. → Kohn 1994

Evidence¶

Kohn 1994¶

Kohn, Alfie. (1994). The Risks of Rewards. ERIC Digest. ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early Childhood Education Urbana IL. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED376990

q2 · i? · review · r1

The digest describes one representative study (Birch et al., 1984) in which young children drank kefir under praise, treat-promise, or no-reward conditions; rewarded children "found it significantly less appealing" a week later. No effect size is printed.

"But a week later these children found it significantly less appealing than they did before, whereas children who were offered no rewards liked it just as much as, if not more than, they had earlier (Birch et al., 1984)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Most praise functions as a verbal reward, creating dependence on others' approval rather than self-generated criteria
• Autonomy, meaningful purpose, and interest improve intrinsic motivation and deeper processing
• Extrinsic rewards deplete intrinsic motivation for already-motivated activities once the rewards are removed — a broader claim this one bears on
• People offered a reward generally choose the easiest possible task, whereas children without rewards pick tasks just beyond their current ability — related
• Expected tangible rewards reduce later free-choice engagement with a rewarded task, while verbal praise does not — a broader claim this one bears on
• Behavior modification programs relying on rewards rarely produce lasting changes in attitudes or behavior, and children whose parents frequently use rewards tend to be less generous — related
• Self-determination theory holds that autonomy support raises intrinsic motivation, and a meta-analysis finds expected tangible rewards undermine it — a broader claim this one bears on
• The article argues extrinsic rewards such as grades can reduce intrinsic motivation and should be phased out — related
• External rewards can undermine intrinsic motivation for learners who are already motivated — related