Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise, and Other Bribes

by Alfie Kohn

Overview

The basic strategy we use for raising children, teaching students, and managing workers can be summarized in six words: Do this and you'll get that. We dangle goodies (from candy bars to sales commissions) in front of people in much the same way we train the family pet. Drawing on a wealth of psychological research, Alfie Kohn points the way to a more successful strategy based on working with people instead of doing things to them. "Do rewards motivate people?" asks Kohn. "Yes. They motivate people to get rewards." Seasoned with humor and familiar examples, Punished By Rewards presents an argument unsettling to hear but impossible to dismiss.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780618001811
Publisher:	Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date:	09/28/1999
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.15(d)

About the Author

Alfie Kohn's six previous books include Punished by Rewards and No Contest: The Case Against Competition, as well as Beyond Displine and What to Look for in a Classroom. Descrilbed by Time magazine last year as "perhaps the country's most outspoken critic of educational fixation on grades and test scores," he is a popular lecturer, speaker to teachers, parents, and reasearchers accross the country. The author currently resides in Belmont, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

	Preface
Pt. 1	The Case Against Rewards
1	Skinner-Boxed: The Legacy of Behaviorism	3
2	Is It Right to Reward?	19
3	Is It Effective to Reward?	35
4	The Trouble With Carrots: Four Reasons Rewards Fail	49
5	Cutting the Interest Rate: The Fifth Reason Rewards Fail	68
6	The Praise Problem	96
Pt. 2	Rewards in Practice
7	Pay for Performance: Why Behaviorism Doesn't Work in the Workplace	119
8	Lures for Learning: Why Behaviorism Doesn't Work in the Classroom	142
9	Bribes for Behaving: Why Behaviorism Doesn't Help Children Become Good People	160
Pt. 3	Beyond Rewards
	Introduction	179
10	Thank God It's Monday: The Roots of Motivation in the Workplace	181
11	Hooked on Learning: The Roots of Motivation in the Classroom	198
12	Good Kids Without Goodies	228
	Appendix A: A Conversation with B. F. Skinner	259
	Appendix B: What Is Intrinsic Motivation?	270
	Appendix C: The Behaviorists Talk Back	277
	Notes	285
	References	352
	Name Index	385
	Subject Index	387

Editorial Reviews

"a clear, convincing demonstration of the shortcomings of pop-behaviorism, written with style, humor, and authority," Kirkus Reviews

"Every parent, teacher, and manager should read this book -- and hurry." -- Thomas Gordon, founder of Parent Effectiveness Training

From the Publisher

Kohn, the author of other iconoclastic books, among them You Know What They Say: The Truth About Popular Beliefs ( LJ 8/90), here shows how rewards of all sorts undermine our efforts to teach students, manage workers, and raise children. Although aimed at a general audience, the book is based on extensive research and documented with almost 100 pages of notes and references. The first six review the behaviorist tradition and lay out in a clear and convincing manner Kohn's central argument that ``pop behaviorism'' is dangerously prevalent in our society. Here Kohn discusses why rewards, including praise, fail to promote lasting behavior change or enhance performance and frequently make things worse. The remaining six chapters examine the effect of rewards and alternatives to them in companies, schools, and the home. Recommended for all types of libraries.-- Mary Chatfield, Angelo State Univ., San Angelo, Tex.

Library Journal

To quote the press release: "Alfie Kohn writes and speaks widely on human behavior, education, and social theory." Beyond that, his qualifications are not spelled out, but his case against extrinsic awards is backed up with substantial notes and references and is thus head and shoulders above many other books for general audiences on what motivates people. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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