Kohn, A. (1993). Punished by Rewards. Boston, Mass: Houghton Mifflin
This book is aimed at a general audience, but is based on extensive research and contains almost 100 pages of notes and references. It draws on hundreds of studies to show why incentives work in the short term, but fail in the longterm, and even do lasting harm. Kohn shows that the more young people are given artificial inducements, the more they lose interest in what they are being bribed to do. He terms "pop behaviorism" the idea of telling children, "Do this and you'll get that." He considers rewarding good work with stickers, stars, certificates, awards, trophies, or even grades as profoundly wrong. Kohn believes such practices are counterproductive and usually fail to achieve the desired results.
Kohn sees nothing intrinsically wrong in the rewards themselves, but the idea of using rewards to control how people behave is what he objects to. The first six chapters of the book attack many common assumptions about the way we are taught in school and the way we are encouraged to approach work. In the second part of the book, Kohn uses his conceptual framework to critique the practice of using rewards in different settings. He deals with pay-for-performance rewards in the workplace, rewards in the classroom, and the role of rewards in raising children. In the final part of the book, Kohn makes recommendations for a world without extrinsic rewards.
Kohn's arguments against rewards fall into four main categories. First, he believes that rewards are actually punishment -- at least implied punishment: withholding of the reward will occur if the desired behavior is not produced. Secondly, he believes that rewards destroy relationships because they are based on individual accomplishments and this inhibits any spirit of cooperation in the workplace. He believes team incentives actually discourage teams from working together.
...