Effects Of Material Rewards On Intrinsic Motivation Of Junior High School Students Under Different Competitive Situations

Material reward is often a means to motivate students to study.However,relevant research and practice have proved that material reward has a double-edged sword effect on students' learning.Based on the cognitive evaluation theory,reward has two factors: information and control.The former helps to maintain intrinsic motivation,while the latter damages intrinsic motivation,that is,erosion effect.Further studies on this effect have found that the size of erosion effect is influenced by competitive situation,reward conditions,attribution types and other factors under different circumstances.In the process of material reward,the influence of competition on individual intrinsic motivation has always been the focus of debate.When individuals feel more control over their behavior,they will be motivated to make more internal attributions,thus strengthening intrinsic motivation.Conversely,in a controlling situation under threat or surveillance,people's sense of self-determination is reduced,which in turn weakens intrinsic motivation.Therefore,in the process of competition,material rewards have different effects on intrinsic motivation based on different competitive situations.Therefore,this research aims to explore how material rewards affect individuals' intrinsic motivation to participate in activities based on different competitive situations and results.For the subjects with different competition results,what form of material reward can exert its real effect?This study included three experiments.In experiment one,the classical free choice time paradigm was used to measure the independent variable of intrinsic motivation level,which was to give material reward(with or without material reward)to this activity.The dependent variable is the level of intrinsic motivation,in which the level of intrinsic motivation is measured by the pleasure and persistence of students' activities.The subjects are required to participate in a mathematical test with or without material reward to explore the influence of material reward on intrinsic motivation.The results showed that when the initial motivation to complete a task was very strong,the presence of material reward would greatly lead to the emergence of erosion effect.In the research process of material reward and intrinsic motivation,competition factors have always been the focus of researchers' debate.Based on this,the second experiment discussed the competition factors.Experiment 2 set up different competitive situations: autonomous support competition and control competition,and explored the corrosive effect of material reward on intrinsic motivation under different competitive situations.The independent variable is the competitive situation(autonomous support competitive situation/controlled competitive situation);The dependent variable is the level of intrinsic motivation,in which the level of intrinsic motivation is measured by students' activity pleasure and persistence.The results showed that in the two different competitive situations,the intrinsic motivation erosion effect was more significant in the controlled competitive situation.The eroding effect of material reward on intrinsic motivation was not significant for the winners of autonomous supportive competition and control competition,but the eroding effect of material reward on intrinsic motivation was more significant for the losers in the control competition.In Experiment 3,participants who failed in the self-supporting competition were given a participation prize,and the independent variable was material reward(yes/no).The dependent variable is the level of intrinsic motivation,in which the level of intrinsic motivation is measured by students' activity pleasure and persistence.The results showed that the intrinsic motivation of the participants who failed in competition was enhanced and the erosion effect was weakened.The study drew the following conclusions:(1)When the subjects had a strong initial motivation to complete a task,the presence of material reward would largely lead to the generation of erosion effect.(2)In the controlling competitive situation and the autonomous supportive competitive situation,the participants' intrinsic motivation was significantly weakened in the controlling competitive situation.For the winners of independent supportive competition and control competition,the eroding effect of material reward on intrinsic motivation of the winners is not significant,but for the losers,the eroding effect of intrinsic motivation of the losers in control competition is more significant.(3)The intrinsic motivation of the participants who failed in competition was enhanced and the eroding effect was weakened.