Punished by Rewards is in my reading heap but rather far down. Maybe I should prioritise it slightly higher.

> Human beings are not designed to be trained like rats and birds, regardless of what many believe.

I'd just want to add that according to Drive, training humans like rats and birds work great... If blind obedience, conformity, and minimal quality is something you're looking for -- which many factory line type managers wanted, for a very long time (and in many cases probably still do, sadly.)

Damnit, if Punished by Rewards contradicts this, I have to read it now, don't I?

I'm currently reading Punished by Rewards. So far I would say that Punished by Rewards is broadly consistent with how you describe Drive.

Alfie Kohn acknowledges that where the work is low skill, very dull, requires little collaboration, rewards generally work for as long as the rewards continue.

But employee of the month? Stack ranking? Basically they're just going to destroy any intrinsic motivation, and lead to teams where people are reluctant to collaborate.

They are consistent... controlling people with punishment and rewards works, as long as the incentive is present, at the cost of destroying intrinsic motivation. It also changes the relationship, positioning the “manager” as a prison guard of sorts and tying them to that role.

It teaches its subjects to do the thing but only if they get the reward and never otherwise. To comply, but only when watched, and to act in secret when fulfilling their true needs.

His book focuses on parenting and one can see how punishment and rewards impact this most important relationship and negatively impact intrinsic motivation in exchange for the illusion of control.

>If your kid is good at something and you want them to lose interest, encourage or reward them for doing the thing :)

Genuine question: What do you do if you want them to get better then?

Engage yourself in what they are doing. Describe what you see. Tell them what that makes you feel. Be objective, rather than judging of their performance.

"You have been trying to find that bug for hours. That's true perseverance!"

"I like the sound effects you added. They really draw me into the game even more."

"It sounds like you're using a technology you haven't before. Trying is the only way to learn new things."

"This runs so smoothly!"

Also, ask questions.

"How did you get the enemy to follow my character?"

"I feel like the game is unfair when I die here. Is there anything you can do to make this section not so difficult?"

"I understood what I was meant to do right away. Can you think of why that was?"

Note how you don't even have to be positive when you do it this way. Simply sharing the experience goes a long way. Encouraging critical thought and decision-making makes it even better.