| The purpose of this research is to evaluate the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsically motivated behaviors in order to evaluate the overjustification theory (OJT), which suggests that extrinsic rewards may decrease intrinsic motivation. An ABAB reversal design, along with data based on pre-experimental observations, was used to evaluate the OJT with seven high school football players during summer weight training. The behavior of weight training was deemed as intrinsically motivated based on self-report and direct observation of duration of time spent working out during a three week period. Results indicated that the overjustification effect was not observed for four participants and may have been potentially observed for three participants. Furthermore, the opposite of the OJT effect occurred with the introduction of extrinsic rewards for half of the participants. Implications for future research and impactful application are discussed. Additionally, conceptual and theoretical issues are considered in light of these results. |
