In Deborah J. Stipek’s article we cover extrinsic reinforcement, cognitions, values, and goals. All of the studies involved in the article are experimental and classroom based. The reinforcement theory is what dominated the educational field until the early 1960’s. In the traditional reinforcement theory the behavior actually depends on the previous reinforcement history.

In the early 1960’s the prominent theory changed to Cognitive Motivation. Later the Intrinsic motivation theorists further expanded the notion of values. All of the factors; extrinsic reinforcement, cognitions, values and goals, are equally important and Stipek believes that they all must be included for a maximum motivation for students. Extrinsic motivation covers both positive and negative reinforcement and punishments.

The article discusses that in each must be used hand in hand to be used effectively. While she took each piece and discussed it separately she stressed the importance of them all being used together as to use them separately it can come up short and even have the opposite effect of that which is desired.

One of the things that she did mention was to be careful with external rewards. They must be slowly removed because if they are removed too quickly it can make the desired behavior to discontinue as well. She also mentions that all of these factors are not easy, but are well worth the work.

It is mentioned that the article is incomplete. She feels that it is because it is missing several different factors that could prove helpful or useful such as “ethnographic studies”. However, just because the entire study may be missing some possibly useful factors, that doesn’t mean that the motivational studies are too early to start implementing!