Behaviour Modification and the Overjustification Effect

Abstract

Behaviour modification procedures have been subject to criticism by proponents of the cognitive evaluation theory using as an empirical base, the overjustification effect. In this paper some of the tenets of the theory as applied to behaviour modification and the parameters of the overjustification effect are examined. It is concluded that methodological problems in the reported research and the lack of comparability between overjustification experiments and commonly used behavioural procedures invalidate the claim that rewarding a behaviour will lead to a decline in intrinsic motivation to engage in that behaviour.