1. I am a little confused on the difference between performance-contingent rewards and task-contingent rewards?
2. Extrinsic motivation is most beneficial when there is an availability to engage in an activity to obtain an outcome that is distinct from the activity itself. When there is an option of using reinforcement, a positive consequence for a certain behavior, this type of motivation works the best at motivating the behavior. Extrinsic motivation would increase student participation in the classroom because the student’s would feel that they are going to get something out of the activity rather than doing it for nothing in return. When comparing this type of motivation to intrinsic motivation, intrinsic motivation requires a lot of discipline and self-control when talking about schoolwork or activities. Older children and adults tend to use intrinsic motivation more than extrinsic.
3. Dweck states that sometimes extrinsic forms of motivation could lead to student’s either having way too much self-esteem or not enough at all. When a teacher praises a student for being “smart”, other students might feel that they’re not on their level yet and therefore feel defeated and frustrated.
For example, a teacher might award her students stickers for every homework assignment that they get an A on. If the student starts to rely on this extrinsic motivation, their locus of control resorts to shifting. A locus of control is the belief that the outcome of an individual’s behavior is reliant on external factors out of their control or internal factors, such as ability. Students in this class might start thinking that their success in that class is revolving around rewards rather t than ability or effort.
Performance-contingent rewards are rewards given for doing well at a task. An example of this could be giving someone piece of candy for getting a math problem right. Task-contingent rewards are for participating or completing a task. This would be giving someone a piece fo candy for attempting a math problem, not for getting the correct answer. Task-contingent rewards undermine intrinsic motivation typically, whereas performance-contingent rewards can enhance it.
ReplyDeleteI find the first line of 2 very interesting! It is 'most beneficial when there is an availability to engage in an activity to obtain an outcome that is distinct from the activity itself.' When your goal is NOT the activity (like piano playing if you love piano playing) but the ends that come from the activity (getting into Juliard), it sets up the most appropriate scenario for using extrinsic motivators. People think extrinsic motivators might be a negative thing, but yes, if your own GOAL is to get that grade, or external outcome, it totally makes sense to be motivated by that external goal.
ReplyDeleteThis will come up more next week, but any praise for being 'smart' or intelligent has actually been shown to have negative outcomes.... No matter what you believe about intelligence (whether you think it's innate or something based on effort), research has shown that if you tell a child they're intelligent, they will work less hard. It's because you're saying it's because of a quality of them that they have no control over. If you say 'Wow, I can tell you worked very hard on this! Good job!', they will work harder on future assignments, because you're saying that they have control over their success.
I agree that once the student starts to become dependent on those external factors, it's probably time to remove the external motivator. That dependence can be the part that's most dangerous.
Another thing that Dweck elaborated on was the overuse of praise that led to the inflated self-esteem or total lack thereof. What he discussed was that when teachers try giving students tasks that are far below their achievement level and praise them for doing something easy, the child either gets way too ahead of themselves because they don't realize that the task isn't worth such praise; or they do realize that and think that the teacher is babying them or dumbing things down for them. This is why praise can be such a dangerous tool for motivation.
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