How the Overjustification Effect Reduces Motivation

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsTheoriesFirst ExperimentsOther ResearchImpactsFrequently Asked Questions

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Theories

First Experiments

Other Research

Impacts

Frequently Asked Questions

The overjustification effect is a phenomenon in which being offered an external reward for doing something we enjoy diminishes ourintrinsic motivationto perform that action. If we enjoy playing volleyball, for example, our motivation to play is reduced if we’re offered money to do so according to this effect.

Why does the overjustification effect occur? We’ll answer this question and share what we’ve learned from research in this area. This can help us understand why we may experience lower motivational levels when offered a reward for an activity that brings us joy.

Intrinsic Motivation vs. Extrinsic Motivation: What’s the Difference?

Overjustification Effect Theories

Researchers have found that whenextrinsic motivation(such as money and prizes) is given for actions that people already find intrinsically rewarding, they become less internally motivated to pursue those activities in the future.But why does a reward diminish our intrinsic motivation?

One theory is that people tend to pay more attention to external rewards rather than their enjoyment of the activity.As a result, they think that their participation in the activity is the result of the external reward instead of being due to their internal appreciation of the behavior.

Another possible explanation is that people sometimes viewexternal reinforcementas a coercive force. Since people feel like they are being “bribed” into performing the behavior, they assume that they are doing it only for this outside reinforcement.

The cognitive evaluation theory (CET) is an additional option that might explain the overjustification effect. CET posits that extrinsic motivation decreases a person’s autonomy, one of the necessary components of intrinsic motivation.

According toself-determination theory, three conditions are needed to feel intrinsically motivated:Autonomy: Freedom of external constraintsCompetence: The need to feel capableRelatedness: The need to feel involved with others

According toself-determination theory, three conditions are needed to feel intrinsically motivated:

What Motivation Theory Can Tell Us About Human Behavior

First Overjustification Effect Experiments

Edward Deci, a professor of psychology at the University of Rochester, first demonstrated the overjustification effect with a series of three experiments in the 1970s.Each experiment involved college students.

Experiment One

In the first set of experiments, 24 students in anintroductory psychology classworked on a puzzle that consisted of 1-inch cubes. Each student was instructed to replicate certain configurations drawn on a piece of paper with these cubes within 13 minutes. They were told that the goal of the study was to investigateproblem-solving concepts.

During the first session, no reward was given for configurations that they were able to reproduce. During the second session, half of the group was told that they would be paid $1 if they could replicate the configuration within the allotted time while the other half were promised no such reward. Neither group received a reward for configurations completed in the third session.

The researcher left the room for eight minutes during each session, telling the students that they could do whatever they’d like. Both groups continued to work on their puzzle for similar lengths of time during the first session. During the second session, the reward group worked on it longer than the control, but their work time also decreased during the third session, which didn’t happen with the control.

Based on this result, Deci concluded that once external rewards were introduced and then removed, subjects experienced a reduction in their intrinsic motivation. However, since the subject pool was so small, more research was needed to confirm this effect.

Experiment Two

Deci’s second set of experiments was conducted in the field versus a laboratory setting. They involved eight students who were headline writers for a college newspaper. These studies took place during the final 10 weeks of paper production, which was broken into three periods. The first period was four weeks with the remaining two periods being three weeks each.

Students working on headlines for the Tuesday issues of the paper were theexperimental group, and students working on headlines for the Friday issues were thecontrol group. The experimental group was offered $0.50 per headline during the second period of the experiment. No pay was offered outside of this period, and it was never offered to the control group.

Although the students didn’t know it, the time it took them to write the headlines was being recorded. The time it took them to complete these headlines was used to determine their levels of motivation.

While the performance of the control group improved from each period of study to the next, the same was not true for the experimental group. In that group, the time it took them to write a headline improved slightly during the second period before declining in the third.

Experiment Three

Deci’s third set of overjustification effect experiments was set up similarly to the first set. Twenty-four subjects from an introductory psychology course were involved, half in the experimental group and the other half in the control.

Instead of rewarding the experimental group with money this time, they received verbal reinforcements during the second session of the experiment. These reinforcements provided positive feedback on their efforts, and they were given whether the student successfully solved the puzzle or not.

In this set of experiments, the amount of time spent working on the puzzle during the eight-minute free choice period stayed fairly steady for the experimental group, increasing slightly during the second session. However, the time that the control group spent continued to diminish throughout each session in the experiment.

Deci translated these results to suggest that verbal reinforcement and positive feedback increase intrinsic motivation whereas money does not. Additionally, reduced motivation with financial rewards appears to be longer-lasting.

Other Overjustification Effect Research

The award, in this experiment, acted as the extrinsic motivation. Those who had agreed to receive the award for their drawings displayed significantly less interest and put less effort into their drawings than those who weren’t contracted to receive any reward and were drawing for the fun of it.

In another experiment involving children, those who were praised for their effort (“You worked really hard on that assignment!") rather than their abilities (“You are so smart!") tended to believe that success hinges on effort rather than innate talent.Researchers added that children who develop this type of mindset are more likely topersist in the face of obstacles.

This is because the grade received is a performance-contingent reinforcer. It reinforces the studying behavior but is dependent upon actually doing well rather than simply going through the motions.

Impact of the Overjustification Effect

The overjustification effect can have a serious impact on our motivations and behaviors. One negative effect is that a person might abandon an activity that they really enjoy after they start receiving money or another type of reward for it.

According to Deci, the cognitive evaluation theory explains why people become less motivated after being offered money as a reward.Money prevents people from experiencing the “freedom of external constraints,” also known as autonomy in the self-determination theory.

Frequently Asked QuestionsSomeone who once enjoyed writing is now less passionate about it after getting a paid job as a journalist. Or, someone who enjoys trivia night with their friends doesn’t like trivia night now that their friends are placing bets on which team will win.While we may not be able to completely reverse the overjustification effect, we may be able to selectively apply it. For instance, we might try to receive rewards or extrinsic motivation for activities that are more mundane (that we don’t enjoy doing in the first place). We can also remember to keep some activities as hobbies, doing them simply for enjoyment and not for the reward.

Someone who once enjoyed writing is now less passionate about it after getting a paid job as a journalist. Or, someone who enjoys trivia night with their friends doesn’t like trivia night now that their friends are placing bets on which team will win.

While we may not be able to completely reverse the overjustification effect, we may be able to selectively apply it. For instance, we might try to receive rewards or extrinsic motivation for activities that are more mundane (that we don’t enjoy doing in the first place). We can also remember to keep some activities as hobbies, doing them simply for enjoyment and not for the reward.

8 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Levy A, DeLeon IG, Martinez CK, et al.A quantitative review of overjustification effects in persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.J Appl Behav Anal. 2017;50(2):206‐221. doi:10.1002/jaba.359Morris LS, Grehl MM, Rutter SB, Mehta M, Westwater ML.On what motivates us: a detailed review of intrinsicv. extrinsic motivation.Psychol Med. 2022;52(10):1801-1816. doi:10.17/S0033291722001611Riley G.The role of self-determination theory and cognitive evaluation theory in home education.Cogent Educ.2016;3(1):1163651. doi:10.1080/2331186x.2016.1163651Martella F, Riekki T.Autonomy, competence, relatedness, and beneficence: A multicultural comparison of the four pathways to meaningful work.Front Psychol. 2018;9:1157. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01157Deci EL.Effects of externally mediated rewards on intrinsic motivation.J Personal Soc Psychol.1971;18(1):105-115. doi:10.1037/h0030644Stanford University.Mark Lepper: Intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and the process of learning.Gunderson EA, Sorhagen NS, Gripshover SJ, Dweck CS, Goldin-meadow S, Levine SC.Parent praise to toddlers predicts fourth grade academic achievement via children’s incremental mindsets.Dev Psychol. 2018;54(3):397-409. doi: 10.1037/dev0000444Cerasoli CP, Nicklin JM, Ford MT.Intrinsic motivation and extrinsic incentives jointly predict performance: a 40-year meta-analysis.Psychol Bull. 2014;140(4):980-1008. DOI:10.1037/a0035661Additional ReadingBreckler SJ, Olson JM, Wiggins EC.Social Psychology Alive.Griggs RA.Psychology: A concise introduction.

8 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Levy A, DeLeon IG, Martinez CK, et al.A quantitative review of overjustification effects in persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.J Appl Behav Anal. 2017;50(2):206‐221. doi:10.1002/jaba.359Morris LS, Grehl MM, Rutter SB, Mehta M, Westwater ML.On what motivates us: a detailed review of intrinsicv. extrinsic motivation.Psychol Med. 2022;52(10):1801-1816. doi:10.17/S0033291722001611Riley G.The role of self-determination theory and cognitive evaluation theory in home education.Cogent Educ.2016;3(1):1163651. doi:10.1080/2331186x.2016.1163651Martella F, Riekki T.Autonomy, competence, relatedness, and beneficence: A multicultural comparison of the four pathways to meaningful work.Front Psychol. 2018;9:1157. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01157Deci EL.Effects of externally mediated rewards on intrinsic motivation.J Personal Soc Psychol.1971;18(1):105-115. doi:10.1037/h0030644Stanford University.Mark Lepper: Intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and the process of learning.Gunderson EA, Sorhagen NS, Gripshover SJ, Dweck CS, Goldin-meadow S, Levine SC.Parent praise to toddlers predicts fourth grade academic achievement via children’s incremental mindsets.Dev Psychol. 2018;54(3):397-409. doi: 10.1037/dev0000444Cerasoli CP, Nicklin JM, Ford MT.Intrinsic motivation and extrinsic incentives jointly predict performance: a 40-year meta-analysis.Psychol Bull. 2014;140(4):980-1008. DOI:10.1037/a0035661Additional ReadingBreckler SJ, Olson JM, Wiggins EC.Social Psychology Alive.Griggs RA.Psychology: A concise introduction.

Levy A, DeLeon IG, Martinez CK, et al.A quantitative review of overjustification effects in persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities.J Appl Behav Anal. 2017;50(2):206‐221. doi:10.1002/jaba.359Morris LS, Grehl MM, Rutter SB, Mehta M, Westwater ML.On what motivates us: a detailed review of intrinsicv. extrinsic motivation.Psychol Med. 2022;52(10):1801-1816. doi:10.17/S0033291722001611Riley G.The role of self-determination theory and cognitive evaluation theory in home education.Cogent Educ.2016;3(1):1163651. doi:10.1080/2331186x.2016.1163651Martella F, Riekki T.Autonomy, competence, relatedness, and beneficence: A multicultural comparison of the four pathways to meaningful work.Front Psychol. 2018;9:1157. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01157Deci EL.Effects of externally mediated rewards on intrinsic motivation.J Personal Soc Psychol.1971;18(1):105-115. doi:10.1037/h0030644Stanford University.Mark Lepper: Intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and the process of learning.Gunderson EA, Sorhagen NS, Gripshover SJ, Dweck CS, Goldin-meadow S, Levine SC.Parent praise to toddlers predicts fourth grade academic achievement via children’s incremental mindsets.Dev Psychol. 2018;54(3):397-409. doi: 10.1037/dev0000444Cerasoli CP, Nicklin JM, Ford MT.Intrinsic motivation and extrinsic incentives jointly predict performance: a 40-year meta-analysis.Psychol Bull. 2014;140(4):980-1008. DOI:10.1037/a0035661

Morris LS, Grehl MM, Rutter SB, Mehta M, Westwater ML.On what motivates us: a detailed review of intrinsicv. extrinsic motivation.Psychol Med. 2022;52(10):1801-1816. doi:10.17/S0033291722001611

Riley G.The role of self-determination theory and cognitive evaluation theory in home education.Cogent Educ.2016;3(1):1163651. doi:10.1080/2331186x.2016.1163651

Martella F, Riekki T.Autonomy, competence, relatedness, and beneficence: A multicultural comparison of the four pathways to meaningful work.Front Psychol. 2018;9:1157. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01157

Deci EL.Effects of externally mediated rewards on intrinsic motivation.J Personal Soc Psychol.1971;18(1):105-115. doi:10.1037/h0030644

Stanford University.Mark Lepper: Intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and the process of learning.

Gunderson EA, Sorhagen NS, Gripshover SJ, Dweck CS, Goldin-meadow S, Levine SC.Parent praise to toddlers predicts fourth grade academic achievement via children’s incremental mindsets.Dev Psychol. 2018;54(3):397-409. doi: 10.1037/dev0000444

Cerasoli CP, Nicklin JM, Ford MT.Intrinsic motivation and extrinsic incentives jointly predict performance: a 40-year meta-analysis.Psychol Bull. 2014;140(4):980-1008. DOI:10.1037/a0035661

Breckler SJ, Olson JM, Wiggins EC.Social Psychology Alive.Griggs RA.Psychology: A concise introduction.

Breckler SJ, Olson JM, Wiggins EC.Social Psychology Alive.

Griggs RA.Psychology: A concise introduction.

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Overjustification Effect Theories#

First Overjustification Effect Experiments#

Experiment One#

Experiment Two#

Experiment Three#

Other Overjustification Effect Research#

Impact of the Overjustification Effect#