The effects of tangible rewards versus praise on intrinsic motivation, perceived competence and task performance

An experiment was conducted to test the effects of two types of performance contingent rewards on intrinsic motivation, perceived competence and task performance among college going females. Subjects (n=99) were randomly divided into three groups and presented with either tangible rewards, approval based statements (praise) or neutral feedback for their performance on a cognitive task. In the two reward groups, temporal contiguity and number of administrations of the rewards were controlled. Results from the self-report and behavioural measures indicated both types of rewards to have little effect on intrinsic motivation. Similarly, no significant differences were found in the case of task performance. However subjects receiving both kinds of rewards reported significantly higher levels of perceived competence than the control group participants (F=5.14, 0.007). Possible reasons for these outcomes are discussed.