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INTRINSIC VS EXTRINSIC A study based on the theories of B.F. Skinner Isabel Ricci Paulo Salazar Research Question The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards on the activity of children. In particular, this research study seeks to answer the following questions (1) Will providing extrinsic rewards turn “fun” (an activity which will be engaged in for its own sake) into “work” (activity which will be engaged in only when the extrinsic incentives for engaging in that activity are present)? (2) Will there be patterns of difference based on age and/or gender? Burrhus Frederic Skinner March 20, 1904. Susquehanna, Pennsylvania Son of a Lawyer and a housewife. Married to Yvonne Blue in 1936 Graduated from Hamilton College as a writer. Heavily Influenced by Pavlov and Watson Enrolled in the Psychology Department of Harvard University at the age of 24. Studies with rats led to Skinner’s Operant behavior which led to Operant Operant Conditioning “The process of operant condition describes the fact that any behavior immediately followed by the presentation of food tends to occur more frequently thereafter” (Ferster & Skinner, 8). - Operant Conditioning: a type of learning where the strength of a behavior is modified by the behavior’s consequences, aka reward or punishment, and the behavior is controlled by antecedents called “discriminative stimuli” which come to signal those consequences. - Positive Punishment and Reinforcement: a goal or motivation tool is presented to a person after the have exhibited a desired behavior thus making the behavior more likely to occur - Reinforcement: the process of encouraging and strengthening a pattern of behavior usually with reward or punishment. - Respondent behavior: A reaction to a stimulus with a certain behavior Operant Conditioning cont... “Reinforcement indicates a strengthening effect that occurs when operant behaviors have certain consequences. Behavior increases in probability when its outcomes are reinforcing” (Nye, 29-30). Skinner’s Box and Us Main work of Skinner A small box in which an animal can move about Animal presses a bar and gets a reward (usually food) As time goes on animal presses bar more Student makes a card and gets a reward Idea is that students will want to make more cards in the hopes of getting a reward Ideally long term study Form of operant conditioning frequently to get reward This is called operant conditioning “Rewards and punishments do not always have predictable effects” Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic - Extrinsic: Coming from outside of a person - rewarding in either a positive or negative manner - Intrinsic: comes from within an individual - it is personally rewarding “Reward and reinforcement are not the same. Rewards may or may not strengthen behavior” (Nye, 30). Hypothesis We believe that positively reinforcing the behavior within the 2nd graders will yield more of the expected results. We believe that by reinforcing their behavior with a physical gift, their motives are rather extrinsic, not intrinsic. We believe that that may not be the case for the 8th graders because they are older and understand much more. Their motives may be different than the 2nd graders where they are acting intrinsically. We believe that the physical reinforcement of a pencil or pen will have a greater effect on the children, more so on the 2nd graders. Study ❏ Our study hoped to examine the effect of reinforcements on the intrinsic and extrinsic motives of students from 2nd and 8th graders. ❏ Will there be a difference in motives based on age? ❏ Will there be a difference in motives based on gender? Procedure ➢ Asked 10 2nd graders (7 girls, 3 boys) and 6 8th graders (4 boys, 2 girls) if they were willing to help us out with our research project. ➢ Asked if they were willing to make halloween cards for their prayer partners from the 2nd/8th grade class. ➢ We provided construction paper and other materials for them to use for their cards. ➢ When finished, we split them up evenly and gave pencils as a reward/ primary reinforcer to one group and the conditioned reinforcer of verbal praise for the Procedure thoughts The students were not aware that we had pencils and they were not aware that we gave pencils to only some. In this way we “minimize[d] some unwanted consequences by preventing the discovery of reinforcing effects” (Skinner, 58). “Responses such as ‘good’ and ‘mhmm’ are considered interpersonal stimuli that promote learning occurrence without awareness” (Spielberger, 73) This meant that we could achieve our desired response without the students Procedure Day 2: “Internal states are the ‘referents’ of [a person’s] description of his feelings, and as such are among the independent variables controlling his verbal behavior” (Skinner, 256). - Asked the same groups if they wanted to make another card for their prayer partners - We provided construction paper and other materials for them to use for their cards. - When finished, we asked if they would like to give a pencil to their prayer partners along with the cards. “The structure of language is said reflect the structure thought” - Questioned them on which cardtothey liked doing betterofand why (Skinner, 11). Results Results Results Results Results Results Results Results Results Results explained The reasons as to what card the participants like better and why showed a correlation between age and motivation However, gender did not seem to have any correlation with motivation 2nd graders- only 1 was motivated by given a pencil away and only 1 was motivated by getting a pencil last time. The rest varied on what they drew 8th graders- all were motivated by being able to give something than just a card to their prayer partners Skinner’s ideas “Age is taken as the principal independent variable in studying the development of various...concepts and mental processes” (Skinner, 88). “Feelings are at best accompaniments of the behavior, not causes” (Skinner, 257). “A man who behaves in ways which reinforce others is reinforced in turn by the group as well as by the others. He can discover ways which will have these consequences by asking himself whether he would be reinforced” (Skinner, 261). “If the response is non-rewarded, the tendency to repeat it to the same cues is weakened” (Miller & Dollard, 33) Limitations ❖ Days given ❖ Participant number ❖ Time limit with the participants ❖ Only had stickers for one day ❖ Only had supplies for 8th graders on second day Changes ➔Hold study over a longer time period ➔Have more participants ➔Give all a pencil and tell them they will get a pencil if they make a card for day one ➔Conduct research at a public school Conclusion Our hypothesis was proven correct. However, we do realize there were many limitations and if the study was to be done again we would make some changes. Skinner believed that it was ultimately a person’s environment that influenced their behavior the most which would make him more on the nurture side of the nature/nurture line. It is the world around us which helps us decide whether we feel better from intrinsic or extrinsic motivation. References Bjork, D. W. (1993). B.F. Skinner: A life. New York: Basic Books. Birney, R. C., & Teevan, R. C. (1961). Reinforcement, an enduring problem in psychology; selected readings. Princeton, NJ: Van Nostrand. Crain, W. (2011). Theories of Development (6th ed.), (pp. 187-203). NJ: Pearson Education. Eriksen, C. W. (1962). Behavior and awareness; a symposium of research and interpretation. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. Ferster, C. B., & Skinner, B. F. (1957). Schedules of reinforcement, by C.B. Ferster and B.F. Skinner. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. Nye, R. D. (1979). What is B.F. Skinner really saying? Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Skinner, B. F. (1969). Contingencies of reinforcement: A theoretical analysis. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts.