DOES INTEREST JUSTIFY FURTHER RESEARCH - COMMENTS

Meta-analytic techniques are extremely useful for providing empirical support for conventional wisdom and identifying key variables, designs , or sample characteristics that can explain conflicting results in th e literature (Light and Pillmer, 1984). In this regard, Tang and Hall' s review is to be commended in that it is the first of its kind to ana lyse in a systematic fashion the extant research on the overjustificat ion effect. Moreover, their review was designed to answer several unre solved issues concerning the influence of study characteristics (age o f subjects, design, and dependent variable) and theoretically importan t moderator variables (interest levels, reward characteristics, and ty pes of feedback) on the robustness of the effect. In the present paper , I will comment on two specific aspects of Tang and Hall's review, th eir analysis strategy and the implications of their findings for under standing the intersection of cognition and instruction.