Should Parents Pay Their Children When They Earn High Grades inSchool?

We all probably recall knowing someone in school who got $5 forevery “A” they earned in school. Research has found thatencouragement of autonomous functioning, individual challenge, andpositive feedback stimulates an intrinsic motivation to achieve(Deci & Ryan, 1985). If the environment is highly controlling,however, the internal forces for mastery-achievement may beundermined. Parents who use surveillance and frequent rewardssocialize their children to be motivated by, and desire, extrinsicrewards. Two specific parenting behaviors were related to extrinsicmotivation and lower school performance. They found that overcontrolling parents (those who engaged in extreme supervision ofhomework completion) had children who were more likely to rely onexternal sources for evaluation. Their grades and achievementscores were lower as well. Parents who relied on external rewardsalso had children with extrinsic motivation and lower schoolperformance. Ginsburg and Bronstein speculate that extrinsicallyrewarded children use external criteria to assess theirperformance, which alters the children’s perception of themselves.This may undermine their ability to self-regulate and chooseappropriate work. These children do not learn how to judge theirown performance. Encouragement of intrinsic motivation, which isbidirectional and reciprocal, will foster independentself-evaluation and academic success. The goal is for the child todevelop the ability to self-regulate and take responsibility foracademic success; thus, the parents are not solely responsible fortheir child’s outcome. So, does paying our children for good gradesmotivate them to do well in school? Do you see how these childrenare not able to learn how to judge their own performance?Elaborate. What are some ways that parents can foster thedevelopment of intrinsic motivation?