The research is showing us our remarkable selves

Submissions for this form are closed.

This article is from a recent New Scientist and builds on the research from a number of sources. It is worth having a read because it can remind us that what we know, what we think we know and what actually is the case, may be very different. For this and other reasons people undertake learning in group settings such as those of Moreno and the Moreno Collegium.

If you want to boost people's performance, don't bank on bonuses.

BONUS culture has come under intense scrutiny since the ongoing financial crisis began in 2007. Many people have been outraged by the way some bankers and top executives seem to have been rewarded for failure. Others find the idea of multimillion-dollar bonuses morally abhorrent. Even US President Barack Obama has gone as far as to call large bonuses "obscene".

But few have asked whether performance-related bonuses really do boost performance. The answer seems so obvious that even to ask the question can appear absurd. Indeed, despite all the fuss about them, financial incentives continue to be introduced in more and more areas, from healthcare and public services to teaching and academia.

"Economists and workplace consultants regard it as almost unquestioned dogma that people are motivated by rewards, so they don't feel the need to test this," says Alfie Kohn, a teacher turned writer. "It has the status more of religious truth than scientific hypothesis."

So it may come as a shock to many to learn that a large and growing body of evidence suggests that in many circumstances, paying for results can actually make people perform badly, and that the more you pay, the worse they perform.

This link will take you to the full article which unfortunately I am unable to copy in its entirity. http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028071.300-the-bonus-myth-how-pa...