This is a short note from my Roam Research second brain. Here’s a free guide where I introduce you to Roam & Building A Second Brain.
Metadata of Note
Type:🍃 Leaf [Nomenclature present here.]
Source: [[Payoff]]
Tags: #motivation #psychology
Date: February 8th, 2022
The Experiment
[Dan Ariely] conducted an experiment where participants were asked to find pairs of the same numbers in a sheet filled with random numbers. They were rewarded 55 cents. There were three groups:- Acknowledge: When the participant finishes the task, they’re asked to write their name on it, the examiner looks over the sheet, acknowledges, and then places it facing downward. And asks, “do you want to do this again for 5 cents less?”
- Ignore: When the participant finishes the task, they were not asked to write their name, but rather give it directly. Examiner does not look and simply keeps it down. And asks, “do you want to do this again for 5 cents less?”
- Shredded: When the participant finishes the task, the examiner simply shreds their paper. And asks, “do you want to do this again for 5 cents less?”
Not surprisingly, on average, participants in the Acknowledge group kept going until they reached 15 cents. The shredded group kept going until 29 cents. And Ignore it until 27.5 cents.
Shredded and Ignore were so close.
Conclusion
- If you want to demotivate someone, “Ignoring” their work works almost as well as “Shredding” it.
- If you want to motivate someone, simply acknowledging their work goes a long way!
