Overjustification effect: what is it and what does it show about motivation?

The overjustification effect shows that there are at least two competing types of motivation.

The overjustification effect is a phenomenon in the psychology of motivation, studied and introduced by researchers Lepper, Greene and Nietzsche.studied and introduced by researchers Lepper, Greene and Nisbett. According to this phenomenon, our intrinsic motivation to do a certain activity decreases when we are offered a reward for it.

In this article we take a look at human motivation and explain what this effect consists of. In addition, we will see in detail how the experiment that made it known was developed and the results that emerged and that demonstrated such effect.

What is human motivation?

Before explaining what the overjustification effect consists of, let's address the concept of motivation, and explain its two major subtypes: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation.. All this, because they are concepts inherent to this phenomenon we are going to talk about.

What is motivation? Some authors define it as "the dynamic root of behavior". But... what exactly does it mean?

Etymologically, the term "motivation" derives from the Latin "motivus" or "motus", which means "cause of movement"..... Thus, motivation underlies all types of behavior that people manifest, we could say that it is its "cause" or engine, and it has to do with the desire we have to do a certain action or task, in order to satisfy a need, or to get something we want.

Broadly speaking, there are two types of human motivation: intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. Let's see, in brief, what each one of them consists of:

1. Intrinsic motivation

Intrinsic motivation is the motivation that is inherent to the task, i.e., the task itself motivates us, we like itIn other words, the task itself motivates us, we like it, and this motivation has nothing to do with external reinforcers or rewards.

We simply enjoy performing a certain action (for example, doing our homework). This is intrinsic motivation, a very important motivation especially in education, where the ideal is that the child learns for the mere pleasure of learning.

2. Extrinsic motivation

Extrinsic motivation, on the other hand, is "outside" the task.Extrinsic motivation is the motivation towards the prize or reward that we obtain by completing a certain task. In other words, we perform certain actions to get something from the outside, such as praise, money, a prize...

Overjustification effect: what is it?

The overjustification effect is a phenomenon framed within psychology (more specifically, basic psychology, which encompasses the psychology of motivation), which occurs when an external stimulus (for example a reward, a prize... which is extrinsic motivation) reduces the intrinsic motivation that someone has to perform a certain task..

To quickly illustrate the overjustification effect, let's take an example: a child likes reading very much (i.e., he is highly intrinsically motivated to read), and he reads for the pleasure of reading.

Suddenly, his father tells him that every time he finishes a book, he will give him €5 as a prize, so that he can spend it on whatever he wants. This may cause the child's intrinsic motivation for reading to decrease, because the motivation to read is influenced by the motivation to get the 5€ (external reward).

That is to say, he will no longer read only for the pleasure of reading, but also to get his reward. This is the overjustification effect, which can appear in both children and adults.

The experiment

Who discovered (AND how) the overjustification effect? The researchers Lepper, Greene and Nisbett, through a field experiment carried out with children in a kindergarten.in a kindergarten.

The research on the overjustification effect is based on the following hypothesis: "when we associate a certain activity with an external reward (extrinsic motivation), we will be less interested in doing that activity (intrinsic motivation) if in the future, there is no such reward".

1. Methodology: first phase of the experiment

The Lepper, Greene and Nisbett experiment was conducted in a kindergarten. There observed that the children had a certain interest in performing different educational activities..

In their overjustification effect experiment, the researchers placed children (who were between 3 and 5 years old) to draw and play with markers. Specifically, they were placed in three different experimental conditions, which were:

1.1. Condition 1 (expected reward).

The first condition was the "expected reward" condition. It consisted of The first condition was the "expected reward" condition. It consisted of promising the children that they would receive a "good player" ribbon for the simple fact of participating in the activity of drawing with in the activity of drawing with markers.

It is important to note at this point that the children, prior to the experiment, already performed this activity spontaneously, simply because they enjoyed doing it (intrinsic motivation).

1.2. Condition 2 (unexpected reward)

The second condition in the experiment was the "unexpected reward" condition. Here, the children were initially not told that they would receive a reward for doing the activity (they were not told anything). Afterwards, at the end of the activity, they were given the reward..

1.3. Condition 3 (no reward)

In the third and final condition, called "no reward", the children were simply not given a prize for doing the activity, the children were simply not told about prizes and rewards at any time.. That is, in this condition, no rewards were given to the children for completing the drawing activity; this was the control group.

2. Methodology: second phase of the experiment

After the application of these conditions, and at the end of the first phase of the experiment, the researchers observed the children in a free environment, where they could play whatever they wanted without premises or restrictions. observed the children in a free environment, where they could play whatever they wanted without premises or restrictions..

The objective of this second phase of the experiment on the overjustification effect was to determine whether or not there were more children who played the drawing activity, this time without the promise of receiving a final reward for it.

3. Results

What results did Lepper, Greene and Nisbett's experiment on the overjustification effect provide? Let us know each of them, according to the experimental condition applied and in relation to the overjustification effect.

3.1. Expected reward condition

First of all, it was observed that children subjected to the first experimental condition (expected reward), played much less drawing with the markers in the second phase of the experiment (free play). of the experiment (free play).

If we apply the theory of the overjustification effect to this result, we can think that the children had decreased or even lost their original intrinsic motivation for the activity, when they had a reward (extrinsic motivation) for doing it (in the previous phase of the experiment).

We must take into account that they had never had this reward before, and that suddenly someone was "rewarding them for playing".

3.2. Unexpected reward condition

Another result of the experiment showed how the children in the second experimental condition (unexpected reward), had not changed their interest in drawing, and drew the same in the free play phase..

Thus, it was attributed that the children enjoyed drawing prior to the experiment, just as they enjoyed the activity in the experimental condition (since they did not know they would be rewarded), and just as they played in the second phase of the experiment (free play).

3.3. No reward condition

Finally, the children in the third experimental condition (no reward) also showed no changes in their drawing behaviors or in their interest in the activity. That is, they drew the same in the free play stage.

Following the overjustification effect, as they had never been rewarded for doing so (in the first phase of the experiment), their intrinsic motivation had remained the same, their intrinsic motivation had remained "intact.".

Bibliographical references:

• Grzib, G. (2002). Cognitive and behavioral bases of motivation and emotion. Centro de Estudios Ramón Areces. Madrid.
• Pintrich & Shunck (2006). Motivation in educational contexts. Theory, research and applications.
• Reeve, J. (2010). Motivation and emotion. 5th Edition. McGraw- Hill/Interamericana. Mexico.
• Ryan, R. M.; Deci, E. L. (2000). "Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being". American psychologist 55 (1): 68-78.