Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

Pink compares the “carrots and sticks” system of Motivation 2.0 to Newtonian Physics: very simple, good at explaining things to an extent, but down at the atomic level (i.e., the level of intrinsic motivation) it starts to break down.

Recalling a famous scene from Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Pink describes how Tom Sawyer tricks the other boys into whitewashing his Aunt Polly’s fence by convincing them that it’s an interesting and rewarding task, rather than a dull chore. The reverse of this is true as well: When rewards are offered, Pink says, it can transform an otherwise interesting task into drudge work; he calls this the “Sawyer Effect.”

Pink gives an example of the Sawyer Effect in real life. In a study by Mark Lepper and David Greene, several preschool children who spent their free time drawing were divided into three groups. The first group was told they would receive a “Good Player” certificate for their drawing; the second group was also awarded a certificate but not told in advance that they would get one; and the third group was given no certificate. The latter two groups continued to draw just as much as they always had, but the first group lost interest in the activity.