RE: Theory of Knowledge

["Alan Meekings" <alan@landmarkconsulting.co.uk>]

Dirk,

You say, "To me the question is not do incentives motivate, but how do they
motivate and what behavior do the reinforce. I don't engage in quality
engineering because it is a hobby. There is an incentive that motivates me
to do this 50 hours a week. Now that I think about it, even hobbies have
incentives that motivate participation."

Have you listened to, or, perhaps, read the published work of Alfie Kohn?
His book, "Punished by Rewards", is still widely available.

Unfortunately, the earlier seminal text in this field, incorporating the
work of the leading thinkers in this field as far back as 1978, is currently
out-of-print. However, you may be able to find a library copy. Its details
are: "The Hidden Costs of Reward: New Perspectives on the Psychology of
Human Motivation", edited by Mark R Lepper and David Greene, Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, New Jersey, 1978, ISBN 0-470-26487-X.

Its title, "The Hidden Costs of Reward", arguably says it all.

Regards as ever,
Alan
Email: alan@landmarkconsulting.co.uk
Mobile: 07785 258 741