Extrinsic Rewards and Intrinsic Motivation in Education: Reconsidered Once Again

TLDR

Extrinsic rewards have long been debated for their potential to undermine intrinsic motivation, with early work suggesting minimal impact but a later meta‑analysis revealing significant flaws in earlier conclusions. The article reviews the recent meta‑analysis that demonstrates tangible rewards substantially undermine intrinsic motivation. The meta‑analysis supports cognitive evaluation theory and highlights its implications for educational practice.

Abstract

The finding that extrinsic rewards can undermine intrinsic motivation has been highly controversial since it first appeared ( Deci, 1971 ). A meta-analysis published in this journal (Cameron & Pierce, 1994) concluded that the undermining effect was minimal and largely inconsequential for educational policy. However, a more recent meta-analysis (Deci, Koestner, & Ryan, 1999 ) showed that the Cameron and Pierce meta-analysis was seriously flawed and that its conclusions were incorrect. This article briefly reviews the results of the more recent meta-analysis, which showed that tangible rewards do indeed have a substantial undermining effect. The meta-analysis provided strong support for cognitive evaluation theory (Deci & Ryan, 1980), which Cameron and Pierce had advocated abandoning. The results are briefly discussed in terms of their relevance for educational practice.