Effects of Direct and Self-Reinforcement as a Function of Internal-External Control 1

Abstract

The present study explored the effects of 2 factors (2 levels of generalized expectancy concerning how rewards and punishments are controlled, and 3 kinds of motivational procedures—self-reinforcement, direct reinforcement, no reinforcement) on response productivity for a simple motor task. Analyses showed generalized expectancy was not influential in affecting response productivity and both self-reinforcement and direct reinforcement were approximately equal in their effect upon task productivity.