Motivation – Rewards

Learning Target: Move from behavioral understanding of Rewards (Positive–>Good, Negative–>Bad) to SDT understanding of how nearly all rewards can undermine intrinsic motivation.

We have all learned that negative reinforcement is “bad”, so we want to incorporate positive reinforcement, right? If we want to move learners to a place where they become intrinsically motivated, positive reinforcement or rewards are not necessarily going to help and can often hinder. So when is using positive rewards okay and when is it not okay? This video helps explain.