Overjustification in a Token Economy

Researchers: D. Greene, B. Sternberg, and M. R. Lepper
Journal: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, vol. 34, issue no. 6 [pp. 1219-1234]
Publication Date: December 1976

The researchers introduced math games and observed the behavior of the students in different classrooms. Students of one classroom were rewarded for playing math games; students from the other classroom continued to play math games without rewards. The rewards were discontinued after 1 week, and the students who were previously rewarded gradually lost interest from playing math games after several weeks, while students who were never rewarded continued to engage in the activity. The result of the research is interpreted in terms of Overjustification Effect, wherein rewarded students explained their behavior (engagement in math games) according to an external factor (the rewards), and ignored a personal, internal factor (enjoyment).