Rewarding Systems: The Intrinsic vs. Extrinsic Models

Once upon a time, not so long ago in fact, it was my thinking that an extrinsic reward-based system in teaching was a wonderful thing. Unabashedly I admit that I have spent countless hours in thinking up ways that I could ‘reward’ my students (for example passing out candy, certificates, ribbons, etc.) for their participation in my class and let them know that their efforts are appreciated. After all, rewarding behavior with tangible gifts or rewards is a good thing, right? Haven’t we been brought up to appreciate rewards or recognition that has been brought our way due to achievement? I know that I have been, and as such it was my thinking that it was a great way to induce motivation in others. After completing the assigned reading for this assignment I have now come to a different conclusion and see that although extrinsic rewards have their due place in the role of reinforcement, that it is the intrinsic reward system that holds a greater place value in the role of educating our students.

There are positives and negatives to both theories, and in the best of the best scenarios the two theories can be combined into a complimentary fashion to promote motivation, but for the most part, in my new way of thinking, the positives of intrinsic rewards far outweigh those of externals and special attention should be given to them if we (the teachers) are to foster an environment conducive to learning in the classroom. In support of this statement, I will address the pros and cons of using reward systems and offer up my opinion on why I will now be altering my use of it in the classroom setting.

First, the pros: Reinforcers are one type of reward that can be effectively used in the classroom environment. There are both positive and negative reinforcers, and if used properly they can generate positive behavioral changes in a student. By offering positive reinforcement (such as a smile for good behavior) or negative reinforcement (withholding recess for undesirable behavior) the pattern is being set for a student to learn what types of behaviors/actions are acceptable in a classroom and these lessons may very well generalize (Stipek 21) or carry over into the way the student presents him/her self in other classrooms as well. The key to the Reinforcement Theory is that the reward must be individualized to the particular student. What may work for one personality type might not for another, so it is imperative that the teacher observe and learn what methods of reinforcement might work best for the individual student. This method of tailoring the reinforcement to the individual student’s needs, according to Stipek (22), is the best method to use if the Reinforcement Theory is to be effective. Brophy agrees that individualizing rewards is acceptable, but is careful to note that the reinforcement even if done in an individualized manner, which he too promotes, is best done privately to ensure optimal success (167), as doing so in public could have the opposite of the desired effect due to any number of factors including peer pressure or fear of failure.

Another type of reward that has some positive attributes is seen in the token economy system. This is a system where students are either given extrinsic items as they ‘earn them’ that can be exchanged for tangible rewards or they are given a set of tokens that are taken away when inappropriate behavior or action is exerted. This type of reward system, again as with reinforcers renders the best results if the needs of the individual or collective group of student(s) are addressed in offering the rewards to gain the behavioral change. If you are able to find an ‘in’ that appeals to the student’s psyche, such as lounge time or maybe free computer time, this type of reward can be most effective.

Token rewards in the sense of performance contracting can be good also in that they promote a sense of learning how to set appropriate goals and they encourage students to take the risk value that is appropriate to them for the highest amount of gain (Stipek 24). They teach students that setting your goals too high or too low is not an advisable thing to do in a learning environment. Once this skill is learned it is intrinsic in value, or a student motivational system vs. a behavioral one, and will as Brophy stresses (155) then be able to carry over into their other classes or lifetime activities. Also I would like to note that if token rewards are given within an acceptable time frame within the student’s attention level they can be very successful in promoting positive behavioral changes. In integrating the two students get the best of both theories, with the motivational foundation being enhanced by the behavioral. Combining them creates the most desirous atmosphere for a positive and effective reward system.

Rewards can be listed as a positive in the teaching environment but it must be remembered that in using them they need to be clear, consistent, sincere, not too plentiful to negate them being considered special, realistic, equal enough to obtained by all, focus on individual achievement, and given within a specific time frame so as to not risk losing interest in them. Giving praise to students is the most common of rewards used in the classroom (Stipek 32). The Cognitive Evaluation Theory proves that is indeed a positive method to use (Deci 3) and Brophy also agrees that rewards can be positive and squarely back the motivational intrinsic learning process, but only if the praise is given in an informational manner and not a controlling manner (which would have the opposite effect) (Brophy 159). He also notes that the praise should focus on the effort the student is making individually and not on the intelligence level of the student. This creates a non-competitive environment that helps the student to be comfortable in receiving and gaining from the praise. Stipek is in agreement with this and takes it a step further in noting that if the praise is given in such a way that encourages the student’s individual effort without being comparative it can prove quite well at having the desired effect of motivation or behavioral improvement (Stipek 32).

As with anything there is the flip side of the argument of whether are not rewards should be used. Some of the cons, or weaknesses and limitations to using a reward system are in need of being discussed as well. First of all, it has been said many times that too much of anything is never a good thing. That clich�© can be readily applied to the rewards system because if they are offered too frequently they tend to diminish in importance to the students and the opposite of the desired effect can take place; instead of motivating students they might just cause them to become complacent. Rewards need to be used in such a way that they are appreciated and doled out rather stingily, less they lose their value in the minds of the students. Another down side to rewards can be seen in the token economy system in that while the rewards are effective in the immediate sense, they are not always so in the long-term sense, and students quite commonly return to their baseline behaviors (Stipek 25) once the tokens are removed.

Another negative side of using rewards is that if you decide to do so, and you do not do so sparingly, students could instead of coming complacent as mentioned before, become entirely too dependent on them, and lose their motivation if the rewards are taken away. It is also noted that if offered too often, extrinsic rewards may actually become counterproductive in nature (Kohn).

Teachers must also be cognizant that if they are doling out awards they must do so in a manner that challenges the students in the correct manner. To offer them rewards based on challenges too minimal for their skills could create feelings of inadequacy in the students who might feel as if the teacher as such does not have faith in them achieving any goals higher than those which require minimal effort (Stipek 28). This in turn can lead students to the behavior pattern of not trying anything more challenging than what is in their comfort zone.

Another down side in using rewards is that instead of encouraging motivation it could strip it from a students’ mind set by having them focusing on the reward instead of the project and learning itself. The achievement the student is then striving for becomes the attainment of the reward, and not what the teacher is really looking for, which is the attainment and self-satisfaction a student might get from actual involvement, interest, and the applying of knowledge gained from their effort. This then is considered an extrinsic reward system, which as noted in Brophy (154) does not increase the desire for students to achieve the task at hand, but instead makes it so the reward is being focused on instead of the intrinsic values that are more apt to motivate the student to actually learning positive behaviors or patterns. As with the example I gave with token rewarding, other types of reward systems have also been known to commonly stop being effective once the rewards are removed.

This is yet another reason that rewards should be given sparingly and not in a plentiful manner. It is better to acknowledge and praise sincerely when deserved rather than to do so on a constant and expected basis, so that it can be used as an unexpected motivator, instead of something a student may learn to need in order to achieve desired results/acceptable behaviors. Reinforcements can also create a sense of negativity about tasks/work/agendas that should be considered the norm if they are offered too liberally. Instead of considering things they should be doing anyway as the norm, students may tend to see those things as ‘special’ if they are offered rewards for them, and lose focus of them being habit as they should be (Brophy 154).

Negative effects that could be produced by a take away rewards system, where the latent affects of the outcome could override the positive effects of the manifest ones need to be taken into consideration. There are times when something may be taken away from a student, in hopes that they will improve behavior or action, and instead it causes them to lose hope or desire to achieve and they may drop out of classes all together or simply lose interest in something that once meant very much to them (Stipek 31). Other negatives to a rewards system could be that they foster an unhealthy reliance on adult opinion instead of forming their own because they are constantly looking for reaffirmation or approval via an adult mandated award system.

Reading the arguments of both the behaviorist, who are in favor of a rewards system and the intrinsic motivation theorists, who are leery of them, I have come to the conclusion that both sides have valid points and neither one is right or wrong. There were some preconceived notions that I had going into this, which I now admit have been dispelled after my assigned reading. One such notion I had was the theory that competition is almost always great for motivation. Brophy adequately reshaped my thinking on this by showing that while some students may very well thrive on healthy competition, to others it can be a distraction , it can create tension by adding to the already competitive environment where grading is prevalent, and it can create a negative attitude or environment from which the learning is taking place (Brophy 171). I also have learned to put into perspective my viewpoint regarding extrinsic rewards, and have switched from believing them to be primary in their motivation abilities to being secondary at best, and even learning that they can actually inhibit the necessary intrinsic ones if used in an improper manner (Deci 1).

This information was surprising to me, and while I did admittedly change some of my points of view regarding rewards in the classroom, I still believe that the pros of using them far outweigh the cons. In fact, I believe that if they are used properly my favorable position on them has been even further enhanced by learning that not only are there immediate effects available from them (the only kind of thinking I really considered prior to this analysis) but that positive lifetime patterns and behaviors can be formed from them as well if they are intrinsically set. The most amazing thing to me is that these types of rewards that are so beneficial to the student are fairly easy in nature to administer. The hope that bounds from that statement alone convinces me that rewards based motivation in the classroom is a must. In choosing sides, I vote a definite yea.

References
Brophy, Jere. (2004). Motivating Students to Learn (2nd Ed.). New Jersey: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates
Deci, Edward, Koestner, Richard, and Ryan, Richard. (2001). Extrinsic Rewards and
Intrinsic Motivation In Education: Reconsidered Once Again. Review of Educational
Resaearch (V. 71 – pp.1-27).
Kohn, Alfie. (1995). Newt Gingrich’s Reading Plan. Education Week.
Stipek, Deborah. Motivation to Learn. Integrating Theory and Practice (4th Ed).
Boston: Allyn and Bacon