Losses Motivate Cognitive Effort More Than Gains in Effort-Based Decision Making and Performance.

ABSTRACT: Human behavior is more strongly driven by the motivation to avoid losses than to pursue gains (loss aversion). However, there is little research on how losses influence the motivation to exert effort. We compared the effects of loss and gain incentives on cognitive task performance and effort-based decision making. In three experiments, participants performed a cognitively effortful task under gain and loss conditions and made choices about effort expenditure in a decision-making task. Results consistently showed significant loss aversion in effort-based decision making. Participants were willing to invest more effort in the loss compared to the gain condition (i.e., perform a longer duration task: Experiments 1 and 2; or higher task load: Experiment 3). On the other hand, losses did not l

SUBMITTER: Massar SAA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7379863 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature