Page 205 - The Power to Change Anything

194 INFLUENCER

o far we’ve explored both personal and social influence.
Now we step away from human factors and examine how
Sto optimize the power of things such as rewards, perks,
bonuses, salaries, and the occasional boot in the rear.

CHOOSE EXTRINSIC REWARDS THIRD
We’re about to step on dangerous ground. Stories of well-
intended rewards that inadvertently backfire are legion. The
primary cause of most of these debacles is that individuals
attempt to influence behaviors by using rewards as their
first motivational strategy. In a well-balanced change effort,
rewards come third. Influence masters first ensure that vital
behaviors connect to intrinsic satisfaction. Next, they line
up social support. They double check both of these areas
before they finally choose extrinsic rewards to motivate be-
havior. If you don’t follow this careful order, you’re likely to be
disappointed.
This particular concept came to the world’s attention with
a nursery school study that sent out a warning that won’t soon
be forgotten. In fact, in 1973 when Dr. Mark Lepper and his
colleagues examined the effects of rewarding children (giving
them their favorite snack) for engaging in activities that they
already enjoyed (playing with their favorite toy), change agents,
coaches, parents, and leaders all took note.
Dr. Lepper revealed that rewarding people for engaging in
an activity that is already satisfying may work against you.
Instead of increasing the frequency of the activity, once the
reward is taken away, subjects may do less of it. At least, once
the favorite treat was taken away from the Bing Nursery School
kids that Lepper studied, they played with their favorite toy less
often than they played with it before they were rewarded for
doing so.
Think of the implications. You want your daughter to learn
to love reading with the same joy and fervor you and your