Study designed to reveal some of the intermediate skills which might account for the superior academic performance of children who perceive their reinforcements in those situations as caused by their own behavior (internal control). (Authors)

Tested whether intrinsic motivation depends on matching cognitive level and task demands and assessed effects of rewards and praise on intrinsic motivation. Children preferred tasks just beyond their ability levels. Praise had mixed effects: rewards decreased intrinsic motivation among highly motivated children but did not influence intrinsic…

Compared behavioral, self-evaluative, and attributional responses of boys with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to those of typically-developing boys on a social success and failure laboratory task. Found that ADHD boys rated their own performance more favorably than controls, were more likely to attribute success to external…