Discussion Regarding Self-Concept, Rewards, and Attribution

Self-concept, rewards, and attribution
Closes on Sunday, June 13 @ 11:59 pm
This topic relates to Chapters 2, 3, and 4 and concerns rewards and how they affect both how you view yourself and other people. While this discussion is about your own experience, please look at the research in the chapters concerning self-concept, intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation, and attribution. However, you do not need to cite anything from a chapter.
Here are a few ways to approach this topic, but don't restrict yourself to only these. You may answer one or more of these OR simply use them to help organize your thoughts.
Think back to how your parents used rewards, both verbal (praise) and material (such as money and privileges), to influence your behavior. Give an example or two. Next, think how you as a parent use, or a future parent plan to use, rewards to influence your own children. Give some examples here, too. Try to differentiate "good" vs. "bad" rewards in your examples. As the textbook shows in Chapter 4, good rewards develop intrinsic motivation, while bad rewards stifle it. If you have had a job dealing with children, such as a teacher, day care worker, babysitter, or camp counselor, you can use examples from those jobs as well.
A specific instance that you could use to center the discussion might be the use of money to reward good grades. This is a very common occurrence, and I am sure a number of class members experienced it, both as the recipient and the supplier. Research has shown that once the money stops, the child's grades usually go down. Was that your experience, too?
How does the use and type of reward affect a person's self-concept, self-esteem, and self-efficacy (Chapter 2) in the long run, after the specific event has passed?
How did the rewards someone else received affect your perception of them (Chapter 3)?
As an HCC student you undoubtedly have both immediate goals and long range ones. How do you balance the goal of satisfying immediate needs with delaying gratification for improved results? You might apply this to getting your degree, making a decent income, or getting married/having children.