Differential Effects of Reward and Punishment on Group Performance by Normal and Psychotic Males

Abstract

This study examined the differential effects of promise of reward and threat of punishment on the performance of 86 normal and 60 psychotic males. 2 types of groups were used, those without a leader and those for whom a leader was selected on the basis of his superior performance on the group task. The task was a variation of the game “Twenty Questions.” Group performance measures were number of trials (questions asked) and amount of time to solve each word puzzle. Results suggest that leaderless groups perform more effectively than do the leader-selected groups and that punishment is a more significant motivator in these groups' performance than reward, though it does not differentiate the performance of psychotics from that of normals.