Motivation Crowding

External rewards can destroy intrinsic motivation. When you pay someone for something they loved doing for free, you transform a labor of love into just labor.

• Swiss communities near a proposed nuclear waste site were initially accepting — but when financial compensation was offered, acceptance rates dropped, because money reframed a civic duty as a commercial transaction.
• Blood donation rates in the UK declined when payment was introduced — money corrupted the moral frame of altruistic giving.
• Children who are rewarded for drawing stop drawing for pleasure and draw only when rewarded.