Introduction

Harlow’s study boggles my mind. I never would have thought that providing rewards would make a person (or monkeys) perform more poorly. I feel like if someone were to give me money to complete a task, I would perform better in order to receive the money. I guess I wouldn't know unless I was to actually do it. I can see how Deci's study makes a lot of sense. If you are previously getting rewarded for a task then that reward is taken away, what is the point of continuing to complete the task? This reminds me of my preschool class and can be carried over into the classroom when I teach. For instance, each week we practice writing a different letter. I give the kids a sticker if they do well or at least try hard writing the letter. If I stopped giving them a sticker and praising them, they would have nothing to look forward to. They would have no reason to try to do well. I know for a fact that if I didn’t at least praise them for doing well, at least half of them would stop trying. This is one connection I made from the research to education.