Intrinsic Motivation Under Repeated and Non- Repeated Rewards During a Reading Task

For several decades, theorists have debated about the underlying causes of intrinsic motivation (i.e., the subjective experience of pursuing an activity for its own sake), disagreeing about whether performance-contingent rewards increase or decrease intrinsic motivation. On one hand, the content-based view of intrinsic motivation posits that obvious, expected, and salient rewards may reduce intrinsic motivation. On the other hand, the structural-based view of intrinsic motivation posits that if a specific goal (e.g., receiving a reward) is repeatedly paired with an activity (e.g., reading), intrinsic motivation may increase. To test these two views, the current study (N = 330) manipulated reward (repeated reward, non-repeated reward, baseline) on a reading task, measured content- and structural-based mechanisms, and assessed intrinsic motivation. According to the content-based view, reward (vs. baseline) and repeated (vs. non-repeated) reward should decrease intrinsic motivation by undermining perceived internal locus of causality and autonomy. According to the structural-based view, reward (vs. baseline) and repeated (vs. non-repeated) reward should increase intrinsic motivation by enhancing perceived instrumentality and activity-goal association. Partially supporting each view, findings indicated that while reward (vs. baseline) and most content- and structural-based mechanisms increased intrinsic motivation, neither reward (vs. baseline) nor repeated (vs. non-repeated) reward predicted any of the content- or structural-based mechanisms. Overall, these data call for alternative explanations on how performance-contingent rewards relate to intrinsic motivation.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Alabama Libraries

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Wahlers, Justin Nicholas

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Garrison, Katie E.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Hart, William
• Barth, Joan
• Castagna, Peter
• Salekin, Randy

• autonomy
• effort
• goals
• interest
• intrinsic motivation
• reward

Statement dc:rights

• All rights reserved by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Language dc:language.iso

en_US, English

Dc Identifier Other

1229492

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ir.ua.edu:123456789/18002