Question

According to the overjustification effect, which one of the following consequences would be TRUE for students who freely choose to study psychology, if marks are given for attendance?

• A. Increased interest of students in the subject
• B. Decreased interest of students in the subject
• C. No effect on the interest of students in the subject
• D. Increased interest in other social science subjects

Hint:

If intrinsic motivation is high and you add strong external rewards, expect interest to {drop} once rewards loom large or are withdrawn.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

Step 1: State the principle. The \textit{overjustification effect} states that adding salient external rewards to an activity that is already intrinsically motivated can shift the perceived locus of causality from “I do it because I like it” to “I do it for the reward,” thereby {reducing} intrinsic interest.

Step 2: Apply to the scenario. Students {freely choose} psychology \(\Rightarrow\) they already have intrinsic interest. Introducing marks for attendance (an extrinsic reward) will, over time, undermine that intrinsic interest.

Step 3: Evaluate options. (A) contradicts the effect; (C) ignores the predicted decrease; (D) is unrelated. Hence (B) is correct.
Final Answer: (B)