Publications [#351818] of Michael Tomasello

Journal Articles

1. Warneken, F; Tomasello, M (2008). Extrinsic rewards undermine altruistic tendencies in 20-month-olds.. Developmental psychology, 44(6), 1785-1788. [doi]
   (last updated on 2025/06/16)

   Abstract:
   The current study investigated the influence of rewards on very young children's helping behavior. After 20-month-old infants received a material reward during a treatment phase, they subsequently were less likely to engage in further helping during a test phase as compared with infants who had previously received social praise or no reward at all. This so-called overjustification effect suggests that even the earliest helping behaviors of young children are intrinsically motivated and that socialization practices involving extrinsic rewards can undermine this tendency.