Students' perceptions of rewards for academic performance by parents and teachers: relations with achievement and motivation in college

In the present study, the authors examined college students' (N= 136) perceptions of the provision of extrinsic rewards given by parents and teachers for academic performance from elementary school through high school. They also examined the relations between reward history and present student motivational orientation. External rewards for students' grades were common at all levels of schooling. Reward history related significantly to students' motivational orientation and performance in college, and these relations were generally stronger for boys than for girls. The authors discuss implications of these findings.