Geoffrey W. Sutton PhD, Psychology and Culture

When Reward Systems Fail to Reward On a recent trip, I used rewards to pay for part of a hotel stay, purchase a quick lunch at McDonalds, and pay for my wife’s jacket at Sam’s Club. Some reward systems work better than others. We also stopped at a place X for hot drinks. Alas, my reward had expired. Yesterday I stopped by my local X and was told I was one visit away from a reward. I smiled and thought they don’t know how to do rewards. It’s not just that the rewards expired too soon but they don't always offer rewards on items I particularly like. Give me points toward things I like and I will come more often. Effective reward systems must actually reward someone for their loyalty.  That’s hard to do when people have different tastes. However, companies like McDonalds, Subway, and Firehouse Subs get it right. Loyal customers earn points on a tier system. You can select from a variety of low cost items or save points for better items--things you would actually buy there l...

The TIMES writer misuses the term “bribe” in the story. “The Right Way to Bribe Your Kids to Read” KJ Dell’Antonia July 23, 2016 The New York Times Although it is common for many to consider rewards for behavior as “bribes,” the term often carries the meaning of influencing people to violate trust or break a rule. In short, it suggests rewards and prizes may be morally questionable. The quotes in the story also refer to rewards in a confusing manner. Consider this. If reading were a rewarding activity, then it would be rewarding in itself and there would be no need for external rewards—a new book might suffice to encourage more reading. Psychologists prefer the term “reinforcement” to refer to events or tangibles that, when presented following a behavior, serve to strengthen the desired behavior.  And in research or clinical practice, psychologists recommend fading (reducing) reinforcements as the behavior becomes a habit. Even better, different schedules o...