The motivational cost of inequality: Opportunity gaps reduce the willingness to work.

ABSTRACT: Factors beyond a person's control, such as demographic characteristics at birth, often influence the availability of rewards an individual can expect for their efforts. We know surprisingly little how such differences in opportunities impact human motivation. To test this, we designed a study in which we arbitrarily varied the reward offered to each participant in a group for performing the same task. Participants then had to decide whether or not they were willing to exert effort to receive their reward. Across three experiments, we found that the unequal distribution of offers reduced participants' motivation to pursue rewards even when their relative position in the distribution was high, and despite the decision being of no benefit to others and reducing the reward for oneself. Partici

SUBMITTER: Gesiarz F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7473543 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature