Impact of Positive Interdependence and Academic Group Contingencies on Achievement

The effects of positive goal interdependence and positive goal and positive reward interdependence on achievement were investigated. The control group (n = 26) consisted of American students in a 10th-grade social studies class, and the experimental group (n = 28) consisted of American students in a 10th-grade social studies class that included four academically disabled and isolated 10th-grade students (3 male and 1 female). The results indicated that cooperation promotes higher achievement than competition does, and that both positive goal and reward interdependence are needed to maximize student achievement.