Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes
by Alfie Kohn

List Price: $15.00
Our Price: $9.48
You Save: $5.52 (37%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $2.65 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions

Book Summary Information

Book Reviews of Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes

Book Review: So rewards don't always work -- that upsets the apple cart!
Summary: 5 Stars

This doesn't seem too radical. As parents, we make similar
assumptions. We reward our children when they behave in ways we
approve, and we punish them when they misbehave. We might argue
about whether spanking is a good punishment or whether sending a
high school student to his or her room is effective, but we agree
about the efficacy of rewards and punishment.

Employers and supervisors would agree. We reward our employees
with pay raises when they do a good job; some jobs even provide
merit pay for their for the best workers.

But after reading Punished by Rewards by Alfie Kohn, I have some
reservations. According to Kohn, rewards are not only
ineffective; they even prevent the behavior we want to encourage!

The book starts off with a review of the psychological school of
determinism and the work of B.F. Skinner. It's a bit technical
here, but it is clearly enough written that most readers can wade
through it with no problems. Then comes the heart of the argument
- offering rewards is actually counter-productive.

In one study, for example, pre-kindergarten children were given
the chance to draw with Magic Markers, something almost all
children love to do. When one group was told they would receive
gold stars if they drew pictures, however, their interest seemed
to drop, and when the gold star rewards were withdrawn, many of
the children quit drawing! The reward took the pleasure out of
the task, making it a job that was done only for the sake of the
reward.

What does this say about our summer reading programs, where we
give students hamburgers (or other rewards) for reading. Will it
make reading less desirable? What happens when parents give their

children dessert as a reward for eating their Brussel Sprouts?
(One experimenter did try to rewards students with Brussel
Rewards when they ate their cake, but the children didn't fall
for that one!)

The same phenomenon occurs in the workplace. Employees who are in
merit pay programs often indicate that their interest in the work
they do drops off, and indeed the quality often falls off after a
few months of the merit pay program.

So what's the solution? Ah, here is the weakness, as Kohn himself

admits. If the high school were to tell our students that we
wanted the joy of learning to be their reward, I fear the vast
majority would quickly find other joys instead! The enthusiasm
that kindergarten children often exude ("Guess what we learned
today!") gets lost somewhere along the way. We can't simply drop
our reward/punishment schemes without carefully considering how
we will restructure our homes, schools, and jobs.

This is a book that parents, teachers, and employers will all
find interesting. It should cause some interesting debates.

Summary of Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes

Psychology & Counseling Books

• Books > Subjects > Health, Fitness & Dieting
• Relationships > Interpersonal Relations
• Parenting & Relationships > Parenting
• Science & Math > Behavioral Sciences
• Social Sciences