To theorize a bit, all of us probably have evolved, unconscious heuristics for what kind of work we are highly motivated to do (which can vary from individual to individual), and when a certain piece of work satisfies one or more of these heuristics, it “doesn’t feel like work”. Ideally, evolution would have tuned these heuristics so that we always feel motivated to do the kind of work that we rationally should do, but of course evolution hasn’t worked quickly enough for that to be the case for us.
The above seems fairly obvious, but the details of some of these heuristics are still puzzling. For example, why does payment or other form of obligation reduce motivation?
The above seems fairly obvious, but the details of some of these heuristics are still puzzling. For example, why does payment or other form of obligation reduce motivation?
Supply and demand. If you have a skill that’s has worth a lot in trade, evolution doesn’t want you lowering the price by doing it for free. Conversely, if something isn’t worth a lot in trade, but gets you friends/allies (i.e. you get smiles and small praise), then you’re motivated to do it more.
It’s only paradoxical until you imagine what would happen in a small community if the motivation scale was reversed.
Yes, that makes sense. Another explanation I thought of was if you’re being paid or are obligated to do something, then the work is likely for someone else’s benefit, in which case you’d be better off (aside from reputation) just doing the minimum amount necessary to get paid or get the obligation discharged.
There’s a classic case (sorry, cite not handy) involving a day care center that started fining parents for picking up their children late, and discovered to their chagrin that parents became more likely to show up late. The usual explanation for this is that once they were paying for the late-pickup service, they felt entitled to it, and the amount of the fine wasn’t nearly as much of a deterrent as the earlier social sanction had been.
The principle seems related: we do different accounting for social and financial capital, and switching a particular task from being measured in one unit to another can totally change the motivation structure for that task.
To theorize a bit, all of us probably have evolved, unconscious heuristics for what kind of work we are highly motivated to do (which can vary from individual to individual), and when a certain piece of work satisfies one or more of these heuristics, it “doesn’t feel like work”. Ideally, evolution would have tuned these heuristics so that we always feel motivated to do the kind of work that we rationally should do, but of course evolution hasn’t worked quickly enough for that to be the case for us.
The above seems fairly obvious, but the details of some of these heuristics are still puzzling. For example, why does payment or other form of obligation reduce motivation?
Supply and demand. If you have a skill that’s has worth a lot in trade, evolution doesn’t want you lowering the price by doing it for free. Conversely, if something isn’t worth a lot in trade, but gets you friends/allies (i.e. you get smiles and small praise), then you’re motivated to do it more.
It’s only paradoxical until you imagine what would happen in a small community if the motivation scale was reversed.
Yes, that makes sense. Another explanation I thought of was if you’re being paid or are obligated to do something, then the work is likely for someone else’s benefit, in which case you’d be better off (aside from reputation) just doing the minimum amount necessary to get paid or get the obligation discharged.
There’s a classic case (sorry, cite not handy) involving a day care center that started fining parents for picking up their children late, and discovered to their chagrin that parents became more likely to show up late. The usual explanation for this is that once they were paying for the late-pickup service, they felt entitled to it, and the amount of the fine wasn’t nearly as much of a deterrent as the earlier social sanction had been.
The principle seems related: we do different accounting for social and financial capital, and switching a particular task from being measured in one unit to another can totally change the motivation structure for that task.
Gneezy and Rustichini 2000