UNDERMINING THE UNDERMINING EFFECT OF REWARD ON SUSTAINED INTEREST

Sometimes, without recourse to controlling rewards, it is difficult to secure desirable behaviors. Yet, much work has demonstrated the damag ing effect that such rewards can have on subsequent independent intere st in the reward-induced behavior. Therefore, one who feels required t o use controlling rewards to increase desirable action in another face s a dilemma: Failing to employ the rewards means foregoing the desired conduct in the immediate situation, but applying them risks undermini ng the other's long-term interest in the conduct. We tested a techniqu e designed to avoid this dilemma by (a) providing a controlling reward to obtain the desired action, but (b) then attributing the action to an abiding trait of the actor. Using this technique, we were able to r everse the damaging impact of a controlling reward on children's motiv ation to write well.