How to Reward and Punish for Success
Should we reward ourselves by the completion of work?
Instead of rewarding our output and success by the jobs we complete, it is much more beneficial to reward behaviors and the small details we perform.
If we look to reward our completions, it makes it much tougher to focus or even figure out the initial steps to we must complete to achieve the whole project.
When we choose to reward ourselves or are rewarded by an outside source, it may actually kill the motivation and enjoyment of what you set out to complete in the first place.
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A Reward Study by Dr. Mark Lepper
Dr. Mark Lepper examined the effects of rewarding children in 1973. It revealed rewarding people for engaging in activities that are already satisfying will decrease the enjoyment and motivation you have to do it on your own. When you reward for something you already enjoy doing and then take the reward away after that, people usually do less of it.
Dr. Lepper would give kids their favorite snack for engaging in activities that they already enjoyed; playing with their favorite toy. Once the rewarding snack was taken away for doing so, they would play with their favorite toy less than before.
This is a massive to know and understand with work ethic. If we constantly reward ourselves for doing work, contributing, helping others or whatever it may be, if the reward is not there in the future, we may not ever have the motivation to do it again.
How Rewards will NOT Motivate You
Humans recognize that they are doing something and getting paid a special bonus for it. If that is removed they conclude it must not be that satisfying to do it for nothing because why else would someone offer a reward? What a great analysis of how the human mind works in these circumstances!
We must be careful when rewarding ourselves or places we work and are involved in because this can often set us up to be unmotivated and much less productive. I think about how many successful people do not care for the money or all the glamour materialistic items and think of this. This keeps them going each day highly motivated for the love of the game or journey.
Also if you are not receiving rewards and others around you are, it could also un-motivate or have you more depressed rather than enthusiastic to achieve the same outcome.
When there are incentive rewards around, you believe you deserve them always for what you do and if you don’t, you feel robbed of everything you contributed. This only hurts our personal progress to become the best version of ourselves.
How to Reward Wisely
We must use incentives wisely. Rewards and punishment are still very useful to apply to us for doing a good job but when it comes to extrinsic rewards, the rewards do not need to be very large and usually less is more. A small reward for a job well done can feel just as satisfying then a large one.
This has been proven in many different circumstances. Such as at a company that gives a plaque for the #1 sales person of the month. Most people will fight tooth and nail for that plaque that means absolutely nothing and has no value and when they receive it, feel as if they got a noble prize with $100k cheque.
I’ve also learned this myself as I’ve actually always been like this with my own rewards. When I had a amazing day, making a killing for the day or week. I would reward myself with a small bag of chips. I was all about building my capital rather than spending it but I was so thrilled to get that bag of chips, it felt so great! The job well done was more than enough but that little reward kept me going! It is often the thought that matters and not the gift itself.
This is because the thought behind the reward carries a symbolic significance. This significance goes a lot further for us than the reward itself.
In the book influencer, they mention a company called Delancy, that would give small change to cocaine addicts as rewards for clean urine samples. Since they were stricken from all their possessions when in the program, the small change was somewhat significant. This reward of trust though held so much value and was very small really kept these addicts away from doing cocaine when the addiction was at its heaviest. Let that sink in.
Small Rewards go a LONG Way
The small rewards allow the motivators to reward more often without having the drawback of the value being so big others would be so small in comparison you wouldn’t want to do the job to get that reward in the first place again. It gives them the opportunity to reward more often because it will be affordable or available in many more circumstances. This allows us to reward on much smaller jobs well done and as it should be because we need to reward each essential behavior that gets us to that final goal.
As I mentioned, we must reward the behaviors, the small details because we need to know what steps to focus on next and master each one of those if we are going to accomplish that big goal or project. Reward incremental improvements as they happen and that will motivate people or yourself much more, especially when the reward is small but the weight of doing a job well done goes so much further.
Rewarding behaviors with social motivation support is often much better then external rewards.
Punishing
For punishing, it’s often not beneficial to punish on the first time something is done wrong. Again remember we must do so with the behaviors but first we must give a warning when the wrong behavior or step is taken.
Give a warning with the chance for them to redeem themselves but also let them know what the consequences will be if they choose to continue to behavior once again. When the same mistakes or behaviors continue, you must follow through then so they understand that what they did is not tolerated. This will give them a chance to change and if not, the punishment will make think to not do it again in the future.
Not too much on punishing, it is pretty cut and dry compared to rewarding. Both have consequences we need to recognize as leaders, motivators, parents and for ourselves.
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My recent trip to Mexico
These are very valid points that could also be applied to schoolgoing children.
Excellent choice.
Thank you @steemiteducation .. hit that upvote :D
My 100% upvote here. Rewarding smartly really counts.
Yes this really opened my eyes.
It's a human thinking when they get paid for something they think that they have been paid for their work. #unmentionables.
A good topic for discussion nice post @bitdollar
Followed u...c yea
I do believe rewarding yourself is positive, in every aspect of life there are rewards, even animals react well to positive rewards. It’s the way we are wired.
Yes but how we reward can be positive or negative.
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