The Problem With Bribes

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses Alfie Kohn's work "Punished by Rewards" that explains why teaching children or encouraging workers according to a rewards and punishment system undermines long-term educational success or superior performance at work. The paper explains Kohn's beliefs on the dangers of incentives and motivations that merely enforce compliance rather than stimulate excellence. The paper looks at how Kohn believes this system to have originated from Skinner's theory of behaviorism. The paper concludes that although ideally one would like this work to be true, following every principle of his advice would require a huge disruption in the way we currently teach elementary school children and employ entry-level workers.

From the Paper:

"Do you remember receiving a gold star every time you did well in grade school? While you might have delighted in the shiny, gold sticker, did that gold star motivate you to do a stellar job the next time you studied for a quiz? Perhaps. But did it stimulate your interest to learn more about the material that was being tested? Probably not. According to Alfie Kohn's work Punished by Rewards, this is why teaching and raising children according to a rewards and punishment system is dangerous. Although using gold stars and candy bars may work in the short run, ultimately it does not translate into long-term educational success or superior performance at work."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Cohn, Alfie. Punished by Rewards the Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A's, Praise and Other Bribes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993 / 1999.

More papers on The Problem With Bribes:

• Term Paper # 3114 : "The Problem with Evil"
• Book Review # 71720 : "Robert W McChesney's "The Problem of the Media"
• Analytical Essay # 136548 : "The Problem with Illegal Immigration and Open Borders"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: