Effects of bonuses for punctuality on the tardiness of industrial workers.

A factory in Mexico paid workers a 2-peso bonus (about 16 cents) each day they clocked in on time.

The researchers flipped the bonus on and off four times to see if the money really caused the change.

They watched the same workers through every phase, so each worker served as his own control.

When the bonus was on, almost every worker arrived on time.

When it stopped, most went back to being late.

The tiny payment wiped out chronic tardiness within days.

Glover et al. (1976) got the same size drop in no-shows with a free 30-second phone call instead of cash.

Both studies show that a minimal, low-cost prompt can fix adult attendance problems.

McGarty et al. (2018) later used the same token-economy idea to pay caregivers 50 cents per session.

The coin boosted parent adherence just like the 2-peso bonus boosted punctuality.

Wolchik et al. (1982) swapped money for lottery tickets and still lifted parent training gains.

Together, these papers say: tiny rewards reliably steer adult behavior across very different jobs.

If you run parent training, staff meetings, or supervise RBTs, attach a small, same-day reward to the first desired response.

A dollar, a ticket, or a quick call can do the heavy lifting.

Pick the cheapest reinforcer first; these studies say it will probably work.