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The impact of choice of rewards and feedback on task performance
Author(s) -
Williams Steve,
Luthans Fred
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
journal of organizational behavior
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.938
H-Index - 177
eISSN - 1099-1379
pISSN - 0894-3796
DOI - 10.1002/job.4030130703
Subject(s) - psychology , task (project management) , arousal , competence (human resources) , cognitive psychology , perception , social psychology , management , neuroscience , economics
A laboratory experiment ( N = 149) tested two hypotheses: that choice of reward will have a positive impact on task performance and that choice would lead to arousal, as measured by reaction speed. The role that feedback information concerning whether subjects were being rewarded for performance on a prior task was also examined. The results revealed that choice and choice interacting with feedback were related to performance, but the choice had no impact on arousal. Self‐determination theory may be used to help interpret these findings. The choice and feedback are non‐controlling and informational to recipients which may increase perceptions of competence and self‐initiative with an accompanying increase in intrinsic motivation to perform well on the task. These theoretical implications and some questions for future research and practical applications are discussed.