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Summary: Advice that needs to be aware of so we can seek the solution
Review: Kohn offers support of why rewards work and don't work. His book mainly points to the fact that they don't work in the long run as well as no reward. Many studies showed that when attempting something the success rate was higher 100% of the time for the ones offered no reward compared to the ones offered a reward. A highschool student ask him in a speech that he was giving on graduation day (paraphased) You want us not to live for rewards in todays society? What else is there? The Kohn admits he didn't have an answer for the gentleman and that he was depressed by this. I believe I have the simple answer to this. Live for basic needs, relationships, learning and self appreciation. I'm surprised he couldn't come up with that.
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Summary: Good subject, but more theory and less practice
Review: This book is more suited for academic pursuits than a practical guide on how to change your incentive programs.The book is about 400 pages long, of which 2/3 is spent poking holes against how incentive programs do not work for long term, meaningful behavioral changes. He builds up a great proof. However, if you buy into thesis, you don't need to devle into the bowels of the detailed arguement he presents. So after the author has you turned around to his point of view, you began to ask, "Then what? What can I change?" It's on this point the author falls short. He has a couple of lame ideas, but no concrete solutions to help you change your actions. His overall solution is to make the job or objective so interesting and challanging that it's unnecessary to bribe. This works for some tasks, but not for others. Get this book if you're intersted in the subject. However, skip this book if your looking for a practical guide on how to design better incentive programs or how to raise your kids differently.
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Summary: EXCELLENT! I WISH EVERYBODY THOUGHT LIKE ALFIE KOHN!
Review: I have stated in a previous review how I feel about prizes/awards and the punitive tone I feel often accompany them. In 1965 the Queen of England presented the Beatles with the MBE Award. John Lennon refused his and some several years later, returned it to the Queen. He felt that he could not, in good conscience accept an award that had previously been given to people who had killed others in combat. I was so impressed by John Lennon's brave stand against the award. It showed a real strength of character and convictions and it showed not compromising one's standards. I even cheered John's stand on this and his refusal of the award. In my earlier review, I criticized what I call "lollipop" awards. Lollipops are simply uniform prizes given to all participants. I hate the lollipops because they are patronizing and insulting. The message contained therein is, "Don't count on being able to earn a real prize. Just be content with a lollipop." I could never, at any point in my life accept a "lollipop." The three times I received "lollipops" as a child were three occasions those lollipops were promptly disposed of. I remember even then consciously thinking that "if I don't get a REAL prize fairly, then I won't get one." I just could not accept a lollipop. Receiving such an ersatz prize can really hurt one's pride and undermine confidence. Although lollipops are usually dispensed with good intentions, it often backfires. John Lennon set a good example. He did not accept something he did not feel he earned. I like the way the author brings home the point that people are NOT a series of conditioned responses. Behaviorism is very restrictive and very limiting in addressing human responses and issues. Alfie Kohn has done a tremendous service in his presentations of this lesson and his arguments are right on target. I wish everybody agreed with Alfie Kohn's position. This book is one I would highly recommend to anyone. It is well worth reading.
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Summary: POKES A MUCH NEEDED FINGER IN THE EYE OF BEHAVIORISM!
Review: This work is sheer brilliance. Mr. Kohn makes a very good and very unshakable case against dispensing awards. I have long believed that COMPETITION KILLS COOPERATION and that creating rivalry among people often undermines the outcome in the long run. I have always had a constitutional aversion for "lollipop" awards; that is, awards passed out like lollipops to every participant. In some instances all participants receive a uniform prize. Nobody's performance is being distinguished, so therefore a prize is asinine and meaningless. As well intentioned as this is, no playing field can ever be level and merely dispensing such uniform "lollipops" flies in the face of what awards are really for. I personally detest the "lollipop" awards and I, for one, would not ever be able to accept one in good conscience. For me, it has to be earned fairly and honestly or it doesn't count. If I had my way, there would be no prizes and awards. All they do is breed rivalry and negative competition. I feel they often undermine cooperation and in many instances preclude cooperation. I like "intrinsic rewards" wherein a person feels good about their accomplishments and receives positive verbal feedback. My favorite uncle was a grand champion at intrinsic rewards -- just knowing he felt you had done a good job or that he was pleased with something you did was a major ego booster. His way was to offer words of gentle encouragement and his motto was simple: if one expects the best, then one can reasonably believe they will GET the best performance. He did not pass out any type of award and he had a strong sense of self and ethics. This highly gifted man has imparted a real gift -- the gift of hard work and taking pride in it. This book is an excellent statement to the above. I would highly recommend it to anyone. People are more than conditioned responses and rewards often feed into behaviorist thinking.
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Summary: Advocating an Educational Utopia
Review: Alfie Kohn is deservedly one of the controversial figures in educational literature today. This book set a precedent that he continues throughout many articles and a few other books. I will let Mr. Kohn argue his case, which is as attractive as it is frustrating to make practical. While he asserts that bribes and threats are not the best way to assist learners learn, his methods can only be fully embraced by a utopian outlook. Nevertheless, he reminds us that intrinsic motivation for learning is by far the most effective and attractive "method" for learning that there can be, and this is common sense. But it is something that we need to be reminded about. As a teacher myself, I have actually found Mr Kohn's thoughts to be very useful in structuring how students learn in my classes. While massive systemic change is required to really do what he advocates, his cogent thoughts are nevertheless helpful to parents, teachers and leaders of business (he divides his thoughts to address these three categories of people). What is particularly useful in Mr. Kohn's manifesto is my heightened ability to discuss effective learning after reading his book. He is wonderful to quote and he draws from studies that are helpful to cite. He ends up being quite repetitive at times, but this is mainly due to the very logical progression of ideas he presents that rely very much on premises he establishes and must reassert for his thoughts to remain clear. So get the book and learn about how effective learning can take place. Then try and figure out how far you can go as a parent, teacher or business leader. It won't be all the way, but you wish you could go that far.
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Summary: Kohn perpetuates myth, antiscience, and dogma
Review: Alfie Kohn uses a cute, marketable saying "the three C's" to refute decades of empirically validated evidence supporting behaviorism. Although behaviorism in itself is not infallible, it does offer a built-in method of evaluating its results. All Kohn offers is "theoretical evidence" to support his findings. This is vastly different from empirical evidence. It means that theory is all it is based on. Armchair evidence has no room in the arena of education, where behaviorist insight has clearly improved educational opportunity and outcomes for students demonstrating difficulties in learning. Alfie, we need more than just your word, especially when our childrens' futures are at stake. The three C's may fit Kohn's agenda (and vocabulary), but until he produces some empirical evidence, this book will have to hit the 99 cent rack. Kohn gets one star for actively challenging an accepted behaviorist body of science, but does not follow through on the principle of parsimony, and falls short in evidence. As Paul Simon sings in "The Obvious Child", "proof is the bottom line for everyone." Get some evidence, and better luck next time, Alfie.
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Summary: Definition of Bribery; Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Reinforcement
Review: As quoted by the classic textbook "Behavior Modification: What It Is And How To Do It" by Garry Martin and Joseph Pear -- "Not infrequently, one meets the objection that presenting reinforcement to someone for 'doing what he ought to do anyway' is 'downright bribery.' In a verbal exchange with a teacher, Roger Ulrich (1970, p. 337)...suggested that the teacher look up 'bribery' in the dictionary. Complying, the teacher said, 'Okay, the dictionary says that bribe means "any gift of emolument, used corruptly to influence public or official action, anything that seduces or allures, an allurement. Also any valuable consideration given or promised for corrupt behavior in the performance of official or public duties."' Ulrich then remarked, 'It's quite common for people to refer to reinforcement as bribing, especially when we use it for children. According to the dictionary definition, however, it doesn't seem to fit. It wouldn't seem that our efforts to get Billy to write his numbers better is really an example of trying to get him to do something illegal or something which goes against what is generally looked upon as being acceptable by our culture. Besides, Billy isn't a public official. Actually, writing numbers seems to be a good thing to be able to do and when you do good things, you often get rewarded for them.' Related to the bribery criticism is the frequently voiced criticism that extrinsic reinforcement for a behavior that a person finds (or should find) instrinsically reinforcing will undermine his motivation to engage in that behavior when the extrinsic reinforcement is no longer provided. In discussing this criticism, Kazdin (1975, pp. 50-52) concluded that 'reinforcing individuals for particular behaviors in a given situation rarely leads to a deterioration of those behaviors in other situations' (p. 52). Feingold and Mahoney (1975) provided additional evidence countering the criticism. Five normal second-grade children were given two play activities, one of which was a follow-the-dots book. The number of dots each child connected was recorded over several daily fifteen-minute sessions. The number of dots [connected] was large for each child, even though no extrinsic reinforcement was given for this behavior. Then, reinforcement in the form of points exchangeable for candies, toys, and small books was given for connecting the dots. As a result, all the children showed substantial increases in their dot-connecting behavior. Next, extrinsic reinforcement was discontinued, and, as we would expect from the principle of extinction, the behavior decreased. But it did not decrease below its high level that had occurred prior to the introduction of extrinsic reinforcement, as would evidently be expected by those who argue that extrinsic reinforcement undermines intrinsic reinforcement." It is for this reason, Skinner insisted that 'reinforcement' must be used as a technical term...so it would be confused with 'bribery' 'rewards' etc. The person who wrote this book obviously didn't read up on the most elementary points of behavior modification. Be wary.
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Summary: Author Bio
Review: Alfie Kohn writes and speaks widely on human behavior, education, and social theory. His first book, No Contest: the Case Against Competition, is regarded as the definitive critique of competition. He is also the author of The Brighter Side of Human Nature: Altruism and Empathy in Everyday Life (1990) as well as dozens of articles in academic journals and popular magazines, including the New York Times, the Atlantic Monthly, the Journal of Education, the Nation, and the Harvard Business Review. A former teacher, he lectures and conducts workshops for educators, parents, managers, and researchers across the country and abroad. Kohn was educated at Brown University and the University of Chicago, and lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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Summary: Reviews
Review: "Once again, Alfie Kohn destroys a universal myth - this time convincingly exposing the destructive effects of using rewards to control children and adults. Every parent, teacher, and manager should read this book - and hurry." -- Thomas Gordon Founder of Parent Effectiveness Training (P.E.T.) "Unorthodox, occasionally utopian, revolutionary in its implications, this eye-opening critique of behaviorist reward-and punishment psychology will challenge and enlighten." -- Publisher's Weekly "Alfie Kohn opens a new world of living, helping the reader to clarify the heavy losses from reward - and to replace costly practices with better ones." -- W. Edwards Deming Management Consultant " A clear and compelling challenge to some of our most cherished assumptions about what makes people tick. Punished by Rewards will be relevant to managers, teachers, and parents - and unnerving to those who rely on the carrot and stick." -- Richard M. Ryan Professor of Psychology University of Rochester "Kohn, arguing that ... [rewards] kill people's desire to do their best, ... is able to back up his criticism of our motivational practices with solid, exhaustive evidence." - Los Angeles Times "Wonderfully clear, provocative, and satisfying, Alfie Kohn's groundbreaking exploration of the harmful effects of rewards should be mandatory reading for every parent and teacher." -Adele Faber, co-author, How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk
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Summary: Here We Go Again`
Review: I thought this was a silly book and wonder why psychologists are still looking for some "unified theory" of how people learn, what is the best way to motivate them, etc., when the simple truth is there are a great many methods and strategies which can be successful AND can fail, why, because individuals are different, specific situations are different. Bribery is often a very effective technique when the goal at hand is well-defined, there is some clear means by which someone can accomplish that goal, and while this method can be impersonal there are situations where the person being rewarded will desire just that, reward me for what I've done, I don't need your subjective interpretation of who I am. What is the difference, when you get down to it, between an external or material reward (a gold star) and a reward which targets someone's need for attention or sense of belonging (you did a very good job, Jimmy). Those who think only in terms of material rewards, on the other hand, might benefit from this book, the author's position is well argued and he does describe the dangers of relying upon this one method. I strongly disagree, though, that the author's thesis is somehow counter cultural, there is a strong bias in American education right now towards an egalitarianism which in my opinion discourages the recognition of merit. For a reward system to work one has to follow through. By limiting himself to cooperative strategies I think the author, ironicly, is discouraging the use of learning techniques which work quite well.
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