Customer Reviews
"No one's passing out the M&M's" - By: calmly, 25 Oct 2007 
Major concerns of this book are the way we are treated in school & at work. Here are some statements about these matters whose truth struck me:
"Aside from any immediate return, we have to note the possible long-term effect of education."
"... we have to explain the behavior of those who pay for or approve those who teach.
"... the use of a standard wage as something which may be discontinued unless the employee works in a given manner is not too great an advance [from slavery]."
These concerned statements are not from Alfie Kohn: they are B.F. Skinner's, from his 1953 work "Science & Human Behavior". Kohn's book relies a lot on an unusuallly harsh way of presenting that science.
Alfie Kohn mentioned in the preface taking a psychology class based on Skinner's experimental work with rats & seemed put off by it. But the work with rats was just a start for Skinner & apparently a sound one: working with an apparently "simpler" organism gave Skinner a chance to uncover many principles. Hardly enough to "explain away" people - or rats. And these principles were present long before Skinner, just as evolution was present (at least for evolutionists) long before Darwin.
Although some of Skinner's works are cited as references for this book, Skinner's 1953 "Science & Human Behavior" isn't to be found among the references even though a entire section of it on "Controlling Agencies" is devoted to understanding the way schools, workplacees, governments, religion, & psychotherapist use control. Skinner knew that being ignorant of controls was unwise. Ahd he wrote about it because didn't want you to be ignorant about control.
"Punished by Rewards" seems like two book in one.
The first is a concern, not unlike Skinner's & probably most of us who have been to school & work, against being manipulated. That seems a good concern but hardly a concern one needs Kohn to point out. I'd trust you would see those problems yourself and, if motivated, I'm sure you could find ways to address them (and, to some extent, likely have).
The second book is a smearing of Skinner & Behaviorism, which Kohn associates closely with what he callls "pop behaviorism". What's "pop behaviorism"? Kohn writes its core is "Do this & you'll get that". Sound modern? Oddly, he admits that "rewards were in use long before a theory was devised to explain & systemize their practice". He also refers to "the popular version of behaviorism, whereby we try to solve problems by offering people a goody if they do what we want." Haven't people been doing this for thousands of years? Did they need Skinner & behaviorists to learn that? Is Skinner & the behaviorists responsible if abuses of their findings were made?
It was, after alll, Skinner who noted many manipulations & sought to help us alll to overcome them , as in "Science & Human Behavior" & his concerns about piecework & gambling systems. It was, after alll, Skinner, who encouraged people to join together to design & live in alternative societies, as with his book "Walden Two". It was Skinner who warned against misguided practices that threaten alll humanity in "Beyond Freedom & Dignity". The Skinner willing to explore being "beyond freedom & dignity" was the same Skinner who taught us about controlling agencies in "Science & Human Behavior".
In the preface, Kohn writes that Skinner "would have been appallled by the result", meaning this book. I'm not so sure. I think it is more likely that Skinner would have agreed with much of it for much the same reasons that W. Edwards Deming did, that it notes misuses of control. And if Skinner could brush off Chomsky's criticism by recognizing Chomsky didn't understand Skinner's work, there can be no doubt that he could have brushed off Kohn's criticism. When asked before this book was published, he was kind enough to interview with Kohn. Skinner, 80 years old, answers a series of pointed questions (included as an Appendix to this book) with ease, grace, wit & sensitivity.
Why Kohn felt the need to use Skinner & Behaviorism as punching bags in a book about rewards I don't know. It seems inconsistent with Kohn's concerns about competition & manipulation, doesn't it? Skinner & Behaviorism is, in good part, about reinforcement: reinforcments may not be rewards & rewards may not be reinforcements.
As to "pop behaviorism", a term which seems closely tied to Kohn, that describes a way of manipulating that goes back to the snake with Eve. Skinner's Radical Behaviorism appears to offer far better tools to understand & avoid "pop behaviorism" than Kohn does. But rather than oppose the two, I wish Kohn would reconsider Skinner's Radical Behaviorism, in which case he might be able to write a truly fine book by applying Skinner's work as well as learning from Skinner's maturity, depth of thought, & sense of fair play.
Excellent and thought-provoking - By: Johnnie Moore, 07 Feb 2003 
The book's central contention - that incentives are frequently counter-productive - has enormous implications for the way we organise our schools & our businesses. Kohn marshallls impressive research & combines it with an engaging writing style.
So many of us believe that you "get what you reward" but Kohn presents a fascinating challlenge to this view. So much of what he has to say about performance incentives is a major warning signal for educationalists & businesspeople.
Fantastic. For practical elaboration, see book Smart Love - By: , 06 Jun 1999 Excellent, ground-breaking work. His ideas are original & thought-provoking. I read this a couple of months ago, & felt he was on to something significant. He offers excellent evidence to back up his unusual claims. While he does offer some ideas to demonstrate how to practicallly apply his theories, I wanted more. This week, I discovered a book callled Smart Love by Pieper & Pieper, which (in my mind) is a parents guide to actuallly living these ideas. Neither book mentions the other - I wonder if the authors are aware of each other. The Smart Love book immediately helped me in my day-to-day living with my 18-year-old, who lives at home. I highly recommend both books!
An excellent book, but only a partial solution - By: , 08 Apr 1999 
This was an excellent & very readable book. As a post-graduate teacher certification candidate in a professional development school program I've seen a number of approaches to classroom management. Most teachers, including my wife, use a combination of Mr Kohn's collaboration, content & choice, mixed with some extrinsic rewards. These rewards do not have to be expensive, & many, like pencils, are also very useful to the students. What a teacher will do in the classroom depends on the age & grade level of the students & the individual's teaching style. This book was the first reallly effective & well-documented presentation of the position that "bribes" are counter-productive.
More applicable to educators than business leaders - By: , 18 Nov 1998 
Kohn makes some fabulaous points on what drives a child to learn at a young age, stressing the fact that rewards can cloud a child's intrinsic motivation, & natural curiosity of learning.
However, I disagree with many of his arguments regarding motivation in the workplace. Basing my thoughts on past experiences I feel what he argues against reallly is effective.
