UpDate - Vol. 14, No. 10, Page 6
November 3, 1994
Just rewards?; Psychologist studies what stimulates creativity

     Rewards encourage creativity. Right? Although the general
perception has been they do, many naysayers in psychology, education
and the work place claim that just the opposite is true, according to
Robert Eisenberger, professor of psychology.
     However, Eisenberger's research with fifth and sixth graders
supports the generally held perception: Genuine rewards for
accomplished tasks can act as a stimulus to creativity.
     His study, "Does Reward Increase of Decrease Creativity?"
published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, has
received national attention because the negative views have been
influential in limiting the use of incentives in the classroom, in
business and in everyday life.
     Eisenberger was interviewed by Michelle Trudeau on National
Public Radio, and an article on his research appeared in Science News.
He also has received a grant of $200,000 from the National Institute
of Mental Health to continue his work.
     The project began when an undergraduate, Michael Selbst,
approached Eisenberger and said he was interested in doing research on
the theory that rewards destroy creativity. Eisenberger held the
opposing viewpoint, and it was clearly a case of opposites attract.
The two decided to collaborate on a study of rewards, and Selbst, now
a graduate student at Temple University, is co-author of the article
on reward and creativity.
     Actually, Eisenberger said, the study showed they were both
right. Their research showed that rewards, properly offered, inspire
people to do their tasks better, and indiscriminate rewards for little
effort have the opposite effect.
     For example, Eisenberger recalled, when he was in grade school,
the students were given stars for each book they read, which led to a
prize. The proof of the reading was turning in titles, so that instead
of reading, the children went to the library to collect titles to get
the prize. "This sent the wrong message when kids focus on the reward
to the exclusion of the task," Eisenberger said.
     Eisenberger's study involved approximately 500 school children.
In the first part of the experiment, half the group received
"dullness" training and half the group received "creativity"
training-both being rewarded with pennies that were stacked nearby.
The "dullness" group was given a series of key words and told to make
one word from any of the letters, and were rewarded for a very simple
task. The "creativity" group were given key words and told to make six
words from the letters of each of the words. They were rewarded with
pennies or a dime.
     Next to study the effects of this training on generalized
creativity, the groups were given sheets of paper with 30 circles and
were told to draw pictures incorporating the circles. As determined by
outside criteria, the "dullness" group drew conventional faces and
pictures, putting forth little effort, while the "creativity" group
continued to demonstrate originality in their pictures, drawing
bicycles, targets and planets.
     A second study showed that larger rewards-whole stacks of
pennies-for being creative in the word task, increased subsequent
creativity in the circle task, except if the money was made too
salient by placing it close to the children, Eisenberger said.
     The studies show that when rewards are made for non-creativity or
used in a way that dominates attention, a student doesn't try to
excel.
     When rewards are made for original thinking, and without being
overemphasized, the student increases his or her efforts. "Our
conclusions were moderate and middle of the road-that rewards should
be meaningful or they are not productive, and that they do not squelch
creativity, but encourage it," Eisenberger said.
     Eisenberger works with graduate students and undergraduates in
his research and will confer with them on further research in this
area. As he said, he draws upon their creativity as they draw upon
his, and the reward is learning more about motivation and creativity.
                                                   -Sue Swyers Moncure