The Use of Rewards to Induce Results

The concept of rewards was examined in the article entitled "Positive effects of rewards and performance standards on intrinsic motivation." The study discussed in this article examined the perceived problem of reduced intrinsic motivation when rewards are used as a motivator for work performance. (Pierce, Banko and So, 2003). The results of this study were surprising, as it seems the previous belief that performance rewards reduce a person's drive for achieving higher performance goals in the absence of rewards, was not entirely correct. The results indicated that certain circumstances involving performance rewards actually stimulated long lasting desires for intrinsically motivated performance in a specific task. (2003).

According to Stone, rewards are simply a form of inducement. (Stone, 2002, pg. 265). They are used to manipulate a person to act or perform in a certain way. In the Polis, rewards are used to align personal motives with community goals. (Stone, 2002, pg. 266). In order to achieve this, a reward is offered, such as a tax break. According to past research and assumptions about the use of rewards, when the reward is removed it was assumed that people would stop acting like they did when they received a reward. However, according to the findings presented by the above study, it seems that if the reward system is set up properly, people will continue to act in line with community goals even after the reward is removed. (Pierce, Banko, and So, 2003).