I've mentioned these findings to several people.here are two common questions. Kohn has a chapter on this. Praise can be counterproductive too. For example, he cites a study showing that children who are often praised for their generous acts actually show somewhat less generosity than those who aren't praised. Not all words of support are counterproductive, but certainly those intended to manipulate behaviour are.
Rewards are a quick fix.
Promoting appropriate behaviours relies on a range of techniques, depending on what is to be achieved.hree key considerations are having something worthwhile to do, working collaboratively rather than competitively and having a say in how things are done. Applying the insights from Punished by Rewards to higher education would entail dramatic changes. Rather than improving quality in higher education, it is only likely to improve quality submissions. A much better approach would be to provide quality money to all institutions on an equal per-student basis, to eliminate rankings and to provide feedback confidentially to each institution. The harmful effect of rewards can be seen in many other aspects of university life, including incentive pay, competitive research grants, teaching awards, honorary societies and Nobel prizes.his is not to mention the harmful effect of punishments.he vice-chancellors' proposals to make it easier to dismiss academics would have a devastating impact on the quality of scholarly work.