The effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation in preschool children.

127 Pages·2017·4.51 MB·English

by  Delia Robinson Richards

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Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014
1-1-1979
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Delia Robinson Richards
University of Massachusetts Amherst
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(1979). Doctoral Dissertations 1896 - February 2014. 3533.
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THE EFFECTS OF EXTRINSIC REWARDS ON
INTRINSIC MOTIVATION IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN
A Dissertation Presented
By
DELIA ROBINSON RICHARDS
Submitted to the Graduate School of the
University of Massachusetts in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
May 1979
School of Education
Delia Robinson Richards 1979
All Rights Reserved
THE EFFECTS OF EXTRINSIC REWARDS ON
INTRINSIC MOTIVATION IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN
A Dissertation Presented
By
DELIA ROBINSON RICHARDS
Approved as to style and content by;
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Alfred Karlson, Chairperson of Committee
Ernest Washington M/eKJmber
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Vonnie McLoyd ^ember
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Mario Fant^ni, Dean
School of Education
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This dissertation is dedicated to my mother,
Marian V. Robinson
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.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank my committee for their guid-
ance and encouragement. Alfred Karlson was supportive and
cooperative while I was doing this research. I will al-
ways be indebted to Ernest Washington. He has been a
major asset in the completion of this educational endeavor.
He worked with me very diligently and without his exper-
tise this research would not have been completed. Vonnie
McLoyd has been extremely helpful and has contributed much
of her time assisting me with this research. I will al-
ways be extremely grateful to her.
Again, I would like to thank my whole committee, to
whom will always be greatful and indebted.
I
I would like to convey my appreciation to Maurice
Wilson who helped me with some of the computations of the
data. He has been very supportive and has contributed
much of his time and effort to this research.
would like to thank Glenda Nelson, one of the
I
observers, who was dependable, cooperative, and extremely
conscientious
This work would not have gone forward without the
V
cooperation and support of my family. My husband, Compton
Richards, was very patient and spent many hours proof-
reading my work. My son, Ramon Richards, was patient and
understanding about my work and many times would do his
own work with me. Marian Robinson, my mother, was always
supportive and encouraging. She is responsible for my
completing this task, and to her I will always be grateful.
Fletcher Robinson, my brother, has been supportive through-
out my educational pursuits, and I am appreciative of all
the encouragement that he has given me.
Amy Okaro typed this dissertation and I would like
to convey my sincere thanks to her.
Mona and Franklin Thorton, my dearest friends, have
been indispensable to me. I stayed with them during my
times in Amherst and they were always understanding,
kind, and supportive.
Numerous other friends and colleagues have helped and
encouraged me throughout this process, and to them I extend
my sincere thanks for their faith in me.
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ABSTRACT
The Effects of Extrinsic Rewards on
Intrinsic Motivation in Preschool Children
May, 1979
Delia Robinson Richards, B.A. Howard University
,
M.A., Howard University, Ed. D., University of Massachusetts
Directed by: Professor Alfred Karlson
Professor Ernest Washington
This study examined the effects of various extrinsic
rewards on intrinsic motivation in black and white pre-
school children. Specifically, this study examines the
effects of intrinsic motivation: when verbal reinforce-
ment is used; when symbolic and monetary rewards are dis-
tributed; and when there is little interaction between the
experimenter and the subjects.
The subjects included forty black and forty white
preschool (ages three and four) children from several day
care centers in the Washington D. C. metropolitan area.
Each child was exposed to only one reward or control
group. Thus, a 2 (race) x 4 (reward) design was used with
three repeated treatments with eighty subjects equally
divided by race and reward.
There were three sessions. During Sessions I and
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Ill, the experimenter told the subjects to make a drawing
of their choice. If they decided to leave the drawing
activity, there were three alternative toys (a game, a
drum, and a tinker toy) with which they could play. There
were two observers who marked down whether or not each
child was drawing. Also the observers wrote down the first
toy the child played with. Both sessions were identical
and lasted twenty minutes each. In Session II, each child
was exposed to the treatment individually. In the verbal
reinforcement group, after each two-minute period, the
experimenter made positive statements about the children's
drawings. At the end of eight minutes, the children were
returned to their classrooms.
The data were analyzed by race and reward. First,
a 2 (race) x 4 (condition) analysis of variance with re-
peated measures for time spent drawing and the number of
pictures drawn by each subject for all three sessions was
computed. Secondly, a 2 (race) x 4 (conditions) x 3
(sessions) analysis of variance for all data was done.
Thirdly,- a chi square analysis was done for what the child
enjoyed most and the first toy played with.
It was hypothesized that intrinsic motivation would
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