Question 1

Teachers at a local school use various reward-based systems to support children in

learning, for example, in succeeding to remember their weekly spelling words, or if they
complete all their homework correctly. However, there has been some disagreements
between teachers about the most appropriate times to use rewards, and types of
rewards to use. Put yourself in the role of a psychologist who has been asked to provide
evidence- based guidance to the teachers at the school so that they can update their
understanding of rewards and use rewards appropriately to support children with their
learning at school.

The idea of rewarding children when they complete a task should be implementing in schools
as it acts as a positive reinforcement. According to the self determination theory of
motivation (Deci & Ryan in 1985), rewarding behaviour is the most effective technique to
motivate people to complete tasks. Deci (1971) stated that people will work harder on a task
if they are offered a reward rather than if nothing is given. This demonstrates how intrinsic
motivation and external rewards are linked. For instance, when a child is rewarded with a
chocolate treat for studying, their intrinsic motivation rises. Some rewards have better chance
of boosting children’s intrinsic/extrinsic motivation than the other. Cognitive evaluation
theory (CET) by Deci & Ryan in 1985, emphasises competence and autonomy while
exploring how external consequences impact internal motivation. Different forms of rewards
can be applied in various circumstances.

Tangible rewards can be expected or unexpected. Leppers, Greene and Nisbett (1973)
demonstrated that under certain conditions the provision of extrinsic rewards for engaging in
an activity may actually undermine a child's intrinsic interest in that activity. It suggests that
children who have been promised a reward (expected reward) or have been surprised with a
reward after they complete a task (unexpected reward) are more likely to feel motivated to
finish the task. However, the repetition of expected rewards for successfully completing
tasks might lead to devaluation, where incentives cease to be surprises and instead arrive as
expected. Therefore, the novelty of this unexpected reward helps us to break free from our
habitual thinking patterns and encourages awareness, which prompts the brain to begin
absorbing crucial information about the reward's possible consequence. In essence,
unanticipated incentives work because they are universal.
Intangible rewards like verbal rewards emphasises on praising an individual without any
materialistic benefits. They are less likely to impair the intrinsic motivation since it includes
feedback on how effectively someone accomplished something without pressurizing them.
For example, giving a student positive feedback on their performance. A drawback to this
reward system is that it occasionally comes out as dominating because feedback can be both
positive and negative. Therefore, it can result in children being less intrinsically motivated at
times. This type of reward is more effective towards students in high school or workplace
employees and can increase intrinsic motivation to perform tasks beneficially.

To sum it all up, the most effective reward to give a child is an unexpected reward since the
element of surprise has been demonstrated to be a significant motivator. Past studies have
shown that unexpected rewards enhances regions of the brain which is linked to development
of cognitive learning. If unexpected reward based system is implemented, it will allow
children to stay motivated regardless of whether they receive a reward or not. And it will
overall boost the child’s intrinsic motivation.
Word count: 470

Question 2
You come across a story in your local newspaper about how a man was struck three
times by lightning and is in a critical condition at the hospital. Later that evening, you
tell your friend about the story and remark on how unfortunate the man was to have
experienced that. To your surprise, your friend doesn't think that it is that unfortunate,
commenting that the man was previously fired from his job for theft. Use social
psychological theory and evidence to provide a scientific analysis for an academic
audience explaining why your friend may have reacted this way to the story.

My friend did not feel any remorse or sorrow for the man who had been hospitalised after
being struck by lightning three times. Given that the man had already been fired from his job
for theft, in my friend's opinion, the man deserved it. In our everyday lives, people constantly
see or encounter injustice which impacts on how they behave on a daily basis. Therefore, it is
important to know how individuals view, respond, and deal with injustice.
The Believe in a Just World Theory by Learner in 1977 (BJW), rests on the assumption that
good things happen to good people and bad things happen to bad people. In other words,
everyone reaps what they have sown. The idea of this theory is essentially based on a
personal understanding between the person and the world which usually develops between
the age of 2 to 5 years old. The friend believes that since the man had committed injustice, he
needs to face the consequences for his action. But there are drawbacks to this theory, as it can
be a salient threat to people who receive undeserving suffering. To restore this theory from
the threats, there are two types of strategies which are often used; rational strategies and
irrational strategies. Rational strategy focuses on acknowledging the existence of injustice,
attempting to limit injustices before they occur, and understanding one's own limitations. On
the other hand, non-rational strategy emphasises people's withdrawal, reinterpretation, and
denial of the injustice. Regardless of this theory, the lighting striking the man isn’t a
justifiable punishment for the theft he committed. It is agreeable that bad actions should face
their consequences, but the severity of the consequence should be reasonable. In this man’s
case, the theft he committed resulted in him getting fired, which is a reasonable consequence
for his action. However, the friend should occasionally overcome their BJW theory beliefs by
developing empathy. Giving someone who has experienced injustice your grief and sympathy
will help them get over it.

Another theory that justifies why my friend didn’t feel unfortunate for the man’s incident can
be explained by Immanent justice reasoning (IJR). This theory involves causally attributing
a deserved outcome to someone's prior moral deeds or character. For instance, if an
individual is suffering, it is due to their immoral character. As a result, using this theory in
practise occasionally leads to victim blame. Here, the friend thinks that the man's theft, which
is an unethical act, is what caused the lights to strike him. A study by Callan et al., 2013
aimed to investigate the examined the impact of long-term versus short-term goal activation
on engagement in Immanent justice reasoning. The results stated that there was more
Immanent justice reasoning towards the thief in the long term condition. As for the good
person, they were not blamed since they did not commit any immoral act. An important
finding from this study suggested that "the impacts of thinking about one's own life goals"
directly entail the significance of justice for the self in reasoning about random events in
other people's lives that are immanently just. Another factor which is supporting the
significance of this effect is the long-term goal focus which was not directly correlated to
injustice.
In conclusion, the two theories that give reason to why the friend didn’t feel unfortunate
towards the man who got struck by the lighting three times and ended up hospitalised are
“Believe in a Just World Theory, Learner, 1977” and “Immanent justice reasoning theory”.
Overall, the friend will need to employ both rational and irrational techniques to respond to
such incidents in the future. Even if the individual has an immoral character, you should keep
in mind that the severity of the punishment should also be weighed against the degree of
remorse you feel for them. The friend should particularly learn to overcome the BJW
hypothesis through growing in empathy.
Word count: 648

References
1. Murayama, A., Miura, A. Two Types of Justice Reasoning About Good Fortune and
Misfortune: A Replication and Beyond. Soc Just Res 29, 331–344 (2016).
2. (Advances in Experimental Social Psychology 49) James M. Olson and Mark P.
Zanna (Eds.)-Academic Press (2014)
3. Mark R. Lepper, Extrinsic rewards and Intrinsic motivation in children National Inst.
of Mental Health (DHEW), Bethesda, Md.; Office of Education (DHEW),
Washington, D.C. Regional Research Program (1973)