The Effects of Reward Contingency and Participative Decision Making on Intrinsically and Extrinsically Motivating Tasks

Abstract

The article focuses on a study which examined the effects of reward contingency and participative decision making on intrinsically and extrinsically motivating tasks. E. L. Deci has examined changes in intrinsic motivation as a consequence of external reinforcement. He distinguished two classes of motivation, namely, intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. He suggests that differential increases or decreases in intrinsic motivation occur as a function of the type of reward given for an activity. He concluded that the effects of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are not additive. An analysis of variance showed differences between tasks in terms of performance time, intrinsic motivation and interest and difficulty ratings. The study also revealed that the effects of external rewards and participation on performance and intrinsic motivation are different for different jobs.