Abstract
The effects of task-contingent rewards and positive performance feedback on subsequent intrinsic motivation for a decipherment task called a cipher game were examined. It was hypothesized that 1) task-contingent rewards would undermine intrinsic motivation, that 2) positive performance feedback would enhance it, and that 3) these two effects would not interact. Sixtyfour female undergraduate subjects were randomly assigned to conditions in a factorial design including two conditions of reward (paid vs. not paid) and two conditions of performance feedback (positive vs. neutral). Task-contingent rewards were found to reduce intrinsic motivation relative to control conditions of no reward. Positive performance feedback enhanced intrinsic motivation in the task-contingent reward condition, but did not enhance it in the no reward condition, and thus the positive feedback effect was not independent of reward effects. These results suggest that extrinsic rewards accompanied with positive performance feedback may not decrease intrinsic motivation, because positive performance feedback may undermine the detrimental effects of extrinsic rewards.
