Is Reward A Punishment? from Reward Addiction to Sensitivity to Punishment

Abstract

This study introduces the topics of reward addiction and sensitivity to punishment in academic contexts to the literature. This study was designed firstly to develop reliable and valid measurement tools that can measure high school students' reward addiction and sensitivity to punishment in academic contexts, and secondly to test the structural equation model formed to identify the relationships between reward addiction and sensitivity to punishment. The participants of the study were a total of 506 high school students. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses showed that the developed measurement tools were valid and reliable. According to the structural equation model formed between the variables of reward addiction and sensitivity to punishment, the reward addiction variable significantly and positively affected sensitivity to punishment. The findings of this study inform both parents and educators with a new perspective about the possible negative results of using punishment and rewards in academic context