People need rewards to take action.

For example, research on the effectiveness of incentives found that residents were 50% less likely to support a policy proposal to store nuclear waste near their hometown when a monetary incentive was added 1 . The researchers call this phenomenon “motivational crowding out”— a process in which altruistic perspectives are replaced by economic evaluations.

When we tell someone that their actions will help others or have a positive impact on the world, we appeal directly to their altruism or sense of purpose. In contrast, offering a reward or incentive for the same action might cause people to focus on the value of the exchange.

Rewards active an entirely different part of the brain, and attention shifts to whether or not the reward is ‘adequate.’  Social scientists have found that this shift can become a barrier to action, because the rewards are found to be insufficient by many would-be participants. When people are offered an incentive, a smaller proportion actually become motivated to take action, as the incentive undermines their initial, altruistic motivation.

Also, incentives unconsciously convey that the desired action is in some way unsavory or undesirable, thereby necessitating a reward (You definitely wouldn’t take this action on your own, so here is an incentive!) The offer of a reward discounts the intrinsic value of the desired action. Tapping into innate altruism, purpose and mission as co-benefits (like contributing to a greener, healthier environment) can produce higher rates of support, engagement, and impact than a rewards-based approach that may suggest the action or policy is undesirable 2 .

Researchers have found that rewards often cause people to focus more narrowly on achieving the reward, diverting attention away from the desired outcome the reward was meant to promote. For example, teachers involved in a program to enhance student performance were offered a reward for higher completion rates. The result? Completion rates went up but student performance declined 3 .

People are motivated to act by a variety of factors ranging from wholly extrinsic (external) to wholly intrinsic (internal) ones. Monetary rewards and incentives are both examples of extrinsic forms of motivation. Extrinsic motivators can deliver a short-term boost in action rates, but can reduce a person’s longer-term motivation and interest in the topic 4 . On the other hand, intrinsic motivators tap into a person’s belief that the action is “inherently interesting or enjoyable,” leading to a longer-lasting impact 5 . The development of strong social connections and feelings of competence and autonomy drive a person’s persistent level of interest in and willingness to take action on an issue. 6 . 

Rewards have been found to be effective in some cases—namely to encourage routine tasks which aren’t very interesting, and don’t demand much creative thinking. Other strategies for mobilizing engagement have proven to be more effective. For example, ‘gamification’ or making work more like a game, has successfully enhanced levels of engagement 7 .

Similarly, people are often motivated by knowing that the behavior is valued by other people to whom they feel connected (or would like to feel connected) including family members, peer groups, or a certain societal sub-group 8 . A growing contingent of social scientists view appeals to intrinsic values as more likely to succeed than appeals to extrinsic values (discussed in Assumption 5).

Extrinsic motivators, in contrast, have been shown to: 1) extinguish intrinsic motivation; 2) diminish performance; 3) stifle creativity; 4) crowd out good behavior; 5) encourage cheating and unethical behavior, and 6) foster short-term thinking 9 .

• 1Frey and Oberholzer-Gee 1997
• 2Pink 2009
• 3Eberts et al. 2002
• 4Deci et al. 1999
• 5Ryan and Deci 2000
• 6Ryan and Deci 2000
• 7Pink 2009
• 8Ryan and Deci 2000
• 9Pink 2009