Initiating Play Activity of Children: The Moderating Influence of Verbal Cues on Intrinsic Motivation

SWANN, WILLIAM B., JR., and PITTMAN, THANE S. Initiating Play Activity of Children: The Moderating Influence of Verbal Cues on Intrinsic Motivation. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1977, 48, 1128-1132. 2 experiments contrasted the effects of several methods of initiating the play activity of elementary school children on their willingness to persist in an initially interesting activity. Consistent with an interpretation based upon assumed changes in self-perceived intrinsic motivation, task persistence declined when (1) an adult rather than the child selected the play activity, and (2) the child was promised a reward for playing the game. In contrast, task persistence remained high when (1) no reward was presented, (2) the reward was not contingent on performance of the target activity, or (3) a performance-contingent reward was paired with verbal reinforcement.