You can trigger this difference in groups of adults too, by adjusting the external incentives involved. Adults trained with external reinforcements (performanc

You can trigger this difference in groups of adults too, by adjusting the external incentives involved. Adults trained with external reinforcements (performance bonuses such as monetary rewards, gold stars, grades, rankings, etc.) will perform better during training compared to ones that receive no performance bonuses. However, after the training is finished, the ones that received no bonuses will generally be more skilled than the ones that did, because without the allure of the bonus they went for internal motivation instead, and challenged themselves with tough cases which allowed them to get better. So the next time you're in an environment with a performance bonus component, ask yourself whether you really want to optimise for the short term over the longer term. If you prefer long term learning, maybe change your environment.