overjustification
Lepper, Greene and Nisbett compared three conditions for preschool children who already enjoyed an activity: an award promised in advance, the same award given without warning, and no award. On the abstract, children who had expected the award showed less later interest than either of the other two groups, and the unexpected-award children did not differ from the no-award group. The full text was not read, so no sample size or award description is used.
Lepper, Greene and Nisbett compared three conditions for preschool children who already enjoyed an activity: an award promised in advance, the same award given without warning, and no award. On the abstract, children who had expected the award showed less later interest than either of the other two groups, and the unexpected-award children did not differ from the no-award group. The full text was not read, so no sample size or award description is used.
Written from the abstract and Crossref record, 2026-11-02; secondary reading in earlier vault notes.
What our sources record
Recorded when this source was checked, figures included, with page references and quotation marks removed.
hypothesis.' Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 28(1), 129-137.