Experience Rewards in RPG's (part 3)

As I mentioned yesterday, I think combat is an essential component in an RPG. Combat allows players to dive into the action and put their characters to the test, utilizing the various skill choices and design decisions they've made for their characters. It almost seems that experience point rewards for defeating enemies is inseparable. In most games where experience points are given out for enemy deaths, players have no incentive to use stealth to avoid a battle—stealth is only used to get the jump on an enemy in order to deal more damage. Like stealth, dialogue is also rarely used in a lot of games to circumvent conflict, unless it is clear that the battle cannot be won (though players often jump into any battle, regardless of how outmatched they might seem to be, and then cry foul if they all die to a superior enemy.) Why do players always insist on such bloodthirsty, brazen approaches to every challenge? Experience points are quite often the incentive for this hack and slash approach, serving as the carrot on the proverbial carrot-and-stick. Although combat is an essential part of a successful RPG, it often seems that combat has become the primary focus for most players, and the other components of RPG's—namely roleplaying and storytelling—fall to the wayside as peripheral elements.