Effects of Success/Failure and Extrinsic Rewards on Intrinsic Motivation Using a Competitive Motor Task

Abstract

Female high school students participated in a motor task to assess the effects of success/failure and extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. A questionnaire was administered to check for the degree of satisfaction after participation under each experimental condition. A significant change in intrinsic motivation was found to be due to the effects of success and failure, but not to the effect of the tangible reward. Those groups receiving success feedback persisted longer at the voluntary play situation than did those receiving failure feedback. As well, the task was deemed more satisfying for the success feedback groups. Results tend to indicate the potency of success over failure feedback in inducing intrinsic motivation and are interpreted in terms of cognitive evaluation versus the overjustification hypothesis.