Consider the following passage from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: "There are wealthy gentlemen in England who drive four-horse passenger coaches twenty or thirty miles on a daily line, in the summer, because the privilege costs them considerable money; but if they were offered wages for the service that would turn it into work then they would resign." This passage illustrates the concept of ____.
A) self-handicapping
B) overjustification
C) the looking-glass self
D) self as institution

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The passage describes a situation where wealthy gentlemen in England are willing to pay a considerable amount of money to drive four-horse passenger coaches as a privilege, but if offered wages instead, they would resign. This is an example of overjustification, where the removal of intrinsic motivation (i.e., driving the coach as a privilege) and the introduction of extrinsic motivation (i.e., wages) can lead to a decrease in overall motivation and engagement in the activity.

Consider the Following Passage from the Adventures of Tom Sawyer