Paying kids to read makes them read less — here's why

In the 1970s, researchers gave preschoolers a simple choice: draw with colorful markers. Some kids were promised a ribbon for drawing. Others got nothing. The result? Kids who were promised a reward lost interest in drawing once the rewards stopped. Kids who were never rewarded kept drawing for fun.

This is called the overjustification effect — when an external reward replaces your internal motivation. Your brain essentially reclassifies the activity: "I must be doing this for the prize, not because I enjoy it." Once the prize disappears, so does the reason to bother.

It shows up everywhere. Companies that pay bonuses for creative work often get less creative output. Schools that reward reading with pizza parties sometimes produce kids who read shorter, easier books — or stop reading entirely once the program ends. The reward becomes the point, and the original joy fades into the background.

Intrinsic motivation — doing something because it's genuinely interesting — is surprisingly fragile. The fix isn't to eliminate all rewards, but to use them carefully. Unexpected rewards, verbal praise, and rewards that increase autonomy tend to preserve motivation. It's the "do this and you'll get that" deals that do the damage.