| Health Care Technicians at Western Carolina Center in Morganton, North Carolina were asked to participate in an incentive program, devised by the North Carolina General Assembly, to reduce costs. Participants in the program were told they would receive up to 25% of all cost reductions realized over a one year period. A section of the Center, called unit H, was designated as the participating unit. Another unit, unit A, served as a control. Subjects were tested on eight psychological measures before the program was announced and two and one-half months after the program was started.;While the present study tested eight hypotheses, the primary hypothesis examined the external validity of Edward Deci's Cognitive Evaluation Theory. The theory predicts that expected extrinsic rewards, contingent on worker performance, will decrease intrinsic motivation. Other hypotheses tested changes in other worker attitudes and affective reactions to the incentive program.;Analyses of the data provide strong support for the prediction that extrinsic contingent rewards will decrease intrinsic motivation. No other measure showed a statistically significant variance over time. |
