The DOI matches its Crossref record; 13 of the 13 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Reinforcement, Reward, and Intrinsic Motivation: A Meta-Analysis
Abstract
This article reviews research on the effects of reinforcement/reward on intrinsic motivation. The main meta-analysis included 96 experimental studies that used between-groups designs to compare rewarded subjects to nonrewarded controls on four measures of intrinsic motivation. Results indicate that, overall, reward does not decrease intrinsic motivation. When interaction effects are examined, findings show that verbal praise produces an increase in intrinsic motivation. The only negative effect appears when expected tangible rewards are given to individuals simply for doing a task. Under this condition, there is a minimal negative effect on intrinsic motivation as measured by time spent on task following the removal of reward. A second analysis was conducted on five studies that used within-subject designs to evaluate the effects of reinforcement on intrinsic motivation; results suggest that reinforcement does not harm an individual’s intrinsic motivation.
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In the citing paper
“significant enhancement by verbal rewards on both measures (d = 0.38 and 0.39, respectively)”
From A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. (1999) · cites this paper as Cameron and Pierce (1994)
In the citing paper
“but significant enhancement on self-reported attitudes (d = 0.14)”
From A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. (1999) · cites this paper as Cameron and Pierce (1994)
In the citing paper
“no effect for unexpected tangible rewards on either measure”
From A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. (1999) · cites this paper as Cameron and Pierce (1994)
In the citing paper
“Cameron and Pierce (1994) reported no overall reward effect on free-choice behavior”
From A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. (1999) · cites this paper as Cameron and Pierce (1994)
In the citing paper
“no effect for performance-contingent rewards on free-choice behavior but enhancement on attitudes (d = 0.19)”
From A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. (1999) · cites this paper as Cameron and Pierce (1994)
In the citing paper
“no effect for task-noncontingent rewards on either measure”
From A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. (1999) · cites this paper as Cameron and Pierce (1994)
In the citing paper
“significant undermining by noncontingent rewards on free-choice behavior (d = —0.26) but not on attitudes”
From A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. (1999) · cites this paper as Cameron and Pierce (1994)
In the citing paper
“A study by Brennan and Glover (1980), for example, was listed by Cameron and Pierce (1994) as task-noncontingent, yet the method section made clear that the rewards were engagement-contingent”
From A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. (1999) · cites this paper as Cameron and Pierce (1994)
In the citing paper
“In the Cameron and Pierce (1994) meta-analysis, 5 of the 6 published studies that used only the performance measure (viz., Harackiewicz et al., 1984, Exps. 2 and 3; T. W. Smith & Pittman, 1978; Weiner, 1980; Weiner & Mander, 1978) were included in a separate meta-analysis of free-choice performance; Cameron and Pierce reported that the effects of rewards on free-choice time were virtually”
From A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. (1999) · cites this paper as Cameron and Pierce (1994)
In the citing paper
“significant undermining by expected tangible rewards on free-choice behavior (d = —0.25) but not on attitudes”
From A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. (1999) · cites this paper as Cameron and Pierce (1994)
In the citing paper
“all found significant enhancement of intrinsic motivation with average effect sizes in the small to moderate range”
From A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. (1999) · cites this paper as Cameron and Pierce (1994)
In the citing paper
“For 43 studies involving free-choice behavior, they concluded that there was significant undermining by all tangible rewards (d = -0.21), and for 33 studies with self-reports, they concluded that there was no effect for tangible rewards.”
From A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. (1999) · cites this paper as Cameron and Pierce (1994)
In the citing paper
“d = 0.10”
From A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. (1999) · cites this paper as Cameron and Pierce (1994)
In the citing paper
“Finally, Cameron and Pierce (1994) reported significant under- mining of free-time behavior in 45 task-contingent rewards studies (d = —0.32) before outliers were removed and in 40 studies after outliers were removed (d = —0.23).”
From A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. (1999) · cites this paper as Cameron and Pierce (1994)
In the citing paper
“They also reported no effect on self-reports in 21 studies before outliers were removed (d = — 0.07) and in 19 studies after outliers were removed (d = —0.08).”
From A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. (1999) · cites this paper as Cameron and Pierce (1994)
In the citing paper
“Excluded, Type I refers to dissertations, and Cameron and Pierce (1994) excluded all dissertations.”
From A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. (1999) · cites this paper as Cameron and Pierce (1994)
In the citing paper
“Cameron and Pierce (1994) did a separate, supplemental meta-analysis of studies with single-subject designs that did not have no-reward control groups.”
From A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. (1999) · cites this paper as Cameron and Pierce (1994)
In the citing paper
“Excluded, Type U refers to studies that Cameron and Pierce (1994) excluded for no apparent reason.”
From A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. (1999) · cites this paper as Cameron and Pierce (1994)
In the citing paper
“Cameron and Pierce (1994) collapsed across the interesting and dull tasks even though it has been firmly established in the literature that initial task interest interacts with reward effects.”
From A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. (1999) · cites this paper as Cameron and Pierce (1994)
In the citing paper
“Excluded, Type III refers to studies that Cameron and Pierce (1994) excluded because they were published after Cameron and Pierce's cutoff date.”
From A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. (1999) · cites this paper as Cameron and Pierce (1994)
Citations
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Metadata
- Authors
- Cameron, J., & Pierce, W. D.
- Affiliations
- University of Alberta (CA)
- ORCID
- Pierce, W. David
- Venue
- Review of Educational Research
- Published
- 1994-09
- Volume
- 64
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 363-423
- ISSN
- 0034-6543 (ISSN-L)
- 1935-1046
- OpenAlex
- W2099044475
- Cited by
- 1,153
- References
- 13
- Citations by year
- 2026: 18 · 2025: 23 · 2024: 29 · 2023: 78 · 2022: 41 · 2021: 47 · 2020: 32 · 2019: 31 · 2018: 39 · 2017: 40 · 2016: 48 · 2015: 54 · 2014: 45 · 2013: 51 · 2012: 56
- FWCI
- 5.14
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Review of Educational Research (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Motivation and Self-Concept in Sports
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Education, Achievement, and Giftedness
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Behavioral and Psychological Studies
- Keywords
- intrinsic motivation, reward, reinforcement, verbal praise, tangible rewards, extrinsic motivation, task persistence, within-subjects design, between-subjects design
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