The overjustification effect is a popular phenomenon that is often reviewed in psychology courses. This effect refers to the observation that positive reinforcement reduces one's intrinsic motivation for a behavior and, thus, decreases the overall probability that the behavior will be repeated. Despite the popularity of the overjustiftcation effect and the concept of intrinsic motivation, these constructs have serious limitations as explanations of behavior. I mention relevant literature that highlights these limitations and recommend that students be exposed to a more circumspect review of the effect and a broader account of contemporary theories of reinforcement.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BenjaminL. T.Jr.HopkinsJ. R.NationJ. R. (1994). Psychology (3rd ed.). New York: Macmillan.
2.
BerkayP. J. (1993). A critical analysis of research on the overjustification effect. Norman, OK: The University of Oklahoma, Department of Educational Psychology. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 365 568)
3.
CameronJ.PierceW. D. (1994). Reinforcement, reward, and intrinsic motivation: A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 64, 363–423.
4.
DeciE. L. (1971). Intrinsic motivation, extrinsic reinforcement, and inequity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 22, 113–120.
5.
DeciE. L. (1975). Intrinsic motivation. New York: Plenum.
6.
DeciE. L.RyanR. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum.
7.
DickinsonA. M. (1989). The detrimental effects of extrinsic reinforcement on “intrinsic motivation.”Behavior Analyst, 12, 1–15.
8.
FersterC. B.PerrottM. C. (1968). Behavior principles. New York: Meredith.
9.
FloraS. R. (1990). Undermining intrinsic interest from the standpoint of a behaviorist. The Psychological Record, 40, 323–346.
10.
GuzzoR. A. (1979). Types of rewards, cognitions, and work motivation. Academy of Management Journal, 22, 75–86.
11.
HerrnsteinR. J. (1970). On the law of effect. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 13, 243–266.
12.
HomH. L.Jr. (1994). Can you predict the overjustification effect?Teaching of Psychology, 21, 36–37.
13.
KohnA. (1993a). Punished by rewards: The trouble with gold stars, incentive plans, A's, praise, and other bribes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
KohnA. (1994). Bribes for behaving: Why behaviorism doesn't help children become good people. The NAMTA Journal, 19, 71–94.
16.
LepperM. R.GreeneD. (1978). Overjustification research and beyond: Toward a means-ends analysis of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. In LepperM. R.GreeneD., The hidden costs of reward (pp. 109–148). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
17.
LepperM. R.GreeneD.NisbettR. E. (1973). Undermining children's intrinsic interest with extrinsic rewards: A test of the overjustification hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 23, 129–137.
18.
MazurJ. E. (1994). Learning and behavior (3rd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
19.
MorganM. (1984). Reward-induced decrements and increments in intrinsic motivation. Review of Educational Research, 54, 5–30.
20.
PittengerD. J.PavlikW. B. (1988). Analysis of the partial reinforcement extinction effect in humans using absolute and relative comparisons of schedules. American Journal of Psychology, 101, 1–14.
21.
PittengerD. J.PavlikW. B. (1989). Resistance to extinction in humans: Analysis of the generalized partial reinforcement effect. Learning and Motivation, 20, 60–72.
PremackD. (1965). Reinforcement theory. In LevineD., Nebraska symposium on motivation (pp. 123–180), Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
24.
SarafinoE. P. (1996). Principles of behavior change: Understanding behavior modification techniques. New York: Wiley.
25.
SchwartzB. (1990). The creation and destruction of value. American Psychologist, 45, 7–15.
26.
ScottW. E. (1975). The effects of extrinsic rewards on “intrinsic motivation.”Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 25, 311–335.
27.
SkinnerB. F. (1953). Science and human behavior. New York: Macmillan.
28.
TimberlakeW. (1980). A molar equilibrium theory of learned performance. In BowerG. H., The psychology of learning and motivation (Vol. 14, pp. 1–58), San Diego, CA: Academic.
29.
TimberlakeW. (1984). Behavior regulation in learned performance: Some confusions and misapprehensions. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 41, 355–375.
30.
TimberlakeW.AllisonJ. (1974). Response deprivation: An empirical approach to instrumental performance. Psychological Review, 81, 146–164.
31.
TimberlakeW.DouganFarmer V. A. (1991). Reinforcement in applied settings: Figuring out ahead of time what will work. Psychological Bulletin, 110, 379–391.
32.
WadeC.TavrisC. (1993). Psychology (3rd ed.). New York: HarperCollins.
33.
WiersmaU. J. (1992). The effects of extrinsic rewards in intrinsic motivation: A meta-analysis. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 65, 101–114.
34.
ZimmermanB. J. (1985). The development of “intrinsic” motivation: A social learning analysis. Annals of Child Development, 2, 117–160.
