| Summary: | The present program of research explored the impact of performance-contingent rewards on perceived autonomy and intrinsic motivation. Four studies sought to clarify the debate between behaviorist (Eisenberger and Cameron, 1996; Eisenberger, Pierce, and Cameron, 1999; Eisenberger, Rhoades, and Cameron, 1999) and the social cognitive researchers (Deci & Ryan, 1980, 1985; Deci, Koestner, & Ryan, 1999) regarding the impact of such incentives on perceived autonomy. Two experimental studies (Studies 1 and 2) examined this relationship among college students and elementary school children. Results revealed an undermining effect of performance-contingent rewards on participants' affective experience of autonomy (enhanced feelings of pressure and tension). No significant results were found on intrinsic motivation for college students, whereas for elementary school children, rewards increased enjoyment for the target activity. === Two field-based quasi-experimental studies (Studies 3 and 4) were designed to explore the impact of performance-contingent rewards in an organizational setting. Both studies differentiated between private sector workers, who received a merit-based salary (performance-reward expectancy) and workers from the public sector who received a salary based on seniority (no performance-reward expectancy). Study 3 replicated the previous findings by demonstrating that that performance-reward expectancy undermined workers perceived autonomy. Study 4 extended these results by revealing that the presence of performance contingent reward programs in organizations undermined employees' work satisfaction and relatedness. Such incentives also had a tendency to reduce workers' adjustment to retirement.
|
|---|
