Mind over money (2) Flashcards
In an experiment by Paul Pith, what were rich people more likely to say?
When asked, rich people were more likely to say they thought they should be on the first life boat to leave the titanic if they were on it
Summarise the experiment of financial incentives in US school children in 2007
Large sums of money given to students for doing different things
NYC, Chicago, Dallas, Washington, Houston
13yr olds $50 for each A
5 yr olds $20 for doing well on test
Others got money for good attendance, behaviour and homework on time
Chic attendance improved - not paid for but attended as wanted to get good grades
Hou areas of maths paid for did better
Dall - rewarded for particular tasks, ended up getting higher grades for reading
Year later when pay stopped results still good, but improvement only half of previous year
What type of work do financial incentives work for?
Piece work
e.g. payed for weight of blackberries picked - people will work harder in the hours they work
Define intrinsic motivation
The joy you get from a task
Describe Edward Deci’s experiment into intrinsic motivation
Soma cube
Had to create shapes given against the clock
Had breaks in between
Observed in breaks - non-paid pts carried on during break, pts paid $1 per solution stopped during breaks as paying makes what was fun feel like work
Payment can rob task of intrinsic motivation
What is meant by choking?
Pressure is too much and people begin to falter when large incentives are on offer (e.g. who wants to be a millionaire, mind goes blank as so much money up for grabs)
Describe Dan Ariely’s study into choking
Studied in poor town where average income very low so could afford to offer people a life-changing amount of money
Got people to play games with memory, thinking skills, physical dexterity and Simon
Offered various levels of price money – some small, some up to six months of income
Pressure proved too much – more people offered, less likely to succeed in games
Low money did much better
Shift from autopilot to conscious mode of thinking when large sum of money involved, this disrupts thoughts
Give three possible explanations for why we perform worse when there is more money on offer
- Distracted as we know we’re being monitored
- Distracted by size of prize - more activity in ventral midbrain the more prize money increases, working memory system becomes overwhelmed
- Too exciting – possibilities too overwhelming, too much dopamine
Explain the Switzerland referendum study
Asked would accept short to mid term low nuclear waste dump in their area
Half said yes half said no
Then asked same question if paid $2,000-$6,000 per person per year
When offered money, 75% said no
Known as crowding out – intention to have sense of civic duty crowded out by money, became suspicious, thought if paying us must be something really bad
Explain the study into parents picking children up late (Gneezy)
Parents kept picking up children late, staff having to stay longer
Wanted to know if you fine parents money, surely they will start picking children up on time?
6 different nurseries
Fined $3 for being 10 minutes or more late
Gave people idea its not that bad to be late
Staff found twice as many children left late
Then every single parent was late at least once a week
Then thought paying for a service, no longer felt guilty for being late
After 12 weeks of every parent being late, ended study and still parents were late even though no fine anymore as message sent its okay to be late
What about bonuses matters more than the actual amount?
Fairness - Once pay seen not to be fair, people may withdraw citizenship behaviour
What are the six conditions that bonuses are effective in?
- Piece work
- Specific tasks
- Intrinsic satisfaction
- Unexpected
- Encourage right behaviour
- Contingent on success
Evidence shows that the joy of a pay rise wears off after how many weeks?
12
