Re: Market motivation

["Devine, James" <jdevine@xxxxxxx>]

I wrote
> > Bruno argues that relying on market motivation can
> > easily undermine intrinsic motivation to do so
> > something.)

JKS: 
> It's a basic rat psych 101 result that you can enhance
> a behavior by reinforcement, but if it was a behavior
> that the rat would do (some) anyway, if you take away
> the reinforcement, it won't do it at all anymore. jks

that's not what BF is talking about. Here are two examples, and I quote is:

        "A boy on good terms with his parents willingly mows the lawn of the family home. His father then offers to pay him money each time he cuts the lawn. 

"The crowding-out effect [the theory that BF is famous for] suggests that the boy will lose his intrinsic motivation to cut the lawn (he may go on doing so, but now he does it because he is paid), but he will not be prepared to do any type of housework for free.

        "You have been invited to your friend's house for dinner, and he has prepared a wonderful meal. Before you leave, you take out your purse and give your friend an appropriate sum of money. 

"Probably nobody in their right mind would behave in this way, because virtually everyone knows that this would be the end of the friendship. By paying, the relationship becomes a commercial one. Yet there is one person who would not hesitate to pay a friend for dinner: classical Homo Oeconomicus would do so, following the price [incentive] effect -- and ends up without friends..." (INSPIRING ECONOMICS: Human Motivation in Political Economy, p. 54) 

The second example is a bit like the ending of Dostoyevsky's NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND. (I hope I haven't spoiled the surprise for anyone!)

The case of the national park volunteers who would refuse to do free work for corporations is a classic case. Whereas they used to do it for free for the National Park Service (intrinsic motivation), they require pay (extrinsic motivation) if a private corporation is in charge.

Michael Perelman has cited the case of bloodbanks, which Titmuss (sp?) shows work better with volunteers' blood than with market-type (price-signal) motivation. 

Frey doesn't think that intrinsic motivation is the whole story. He thinks it applies only in some social contexts. 

------------------------
Jim Devine jdevine@xxxxxxx &  http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine