What are incentives?

Incentives are things that make you want to do something, like getting a treat after cleaning your room.

Imagine you have two cookies in front of you: one is plain chocolate chip, and the other has sprinkles and chocolate sauce. If someone tells you that if you finish your homework, you can pick the cookie with sprinkles and chocolate sauce, that’s an incentive, it makes you want to do your homework faster.

Think of incentives like a special reward at the end of a fun game. If you're playing a board game and you know that if you win, you get to pick your favorite snack, you’ll probably try harder to move your piece around the board.

Sometimes, incentives can be something simple, like getting praise from a teacher or a high five from a friend. These little rewards help make doing good things feel more exciting and worth it. Incentives are things that make you want to do something, like getting a treat after cleaning your room.

Imagine you have two cookies in front of you: one is plain chocolate chip, and the other has sprinkles and chocolate sauce. If someone tells you that if you finish your homework, you can pick the cookie with sprinkles and chocolate sauce, that’s an incentive, it makes you want to do your homework faster.