Who is satisfied with effort? Individual differences as determinants of satisfaction with effort and reward
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Who is satisfied with effort? Individual differences as determinants of satisfaction with effort and reward. / Clay, Georgia; Dumitrescu, Carmen; Habenicht, Janina; Kmiecik, Isabel; Musetti, Marzia; Domachowska, Irena.
In: European Journal of Psychological Assessment, Vol. 38, No. 6, 2022, p. 452-462.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Who is satisfied with effort?
T2 - Individual differences as determinants of satisfaction with effort and reward
AU - Clay, Georgia
AU - Dumitrescu, Carmen
AU - Habenicht, Janina
AU - Kmiecik, Isabel
AU - Musetti, Marzia
AU - Domachowska, Irena
N1 - (Ekstern)
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - The effort required to obtain certain rewards may influence the level of satisfaction with the following reward. Since people differ in beliefs about the availability of willpower resources required to pursue effortful actions, we investigated how willpower beliefs affect the perception of effort and satisfaction with reward. We hypothesized that people with limited willpower beliefs (i.e., believing that exerting effort leads to depletion of their inner resources) will perceive cognitive tasks as more effortful and will be less satisfied with the subsequent reward than those with non-limited beliefs (i.e., believing that exerting effort is invigorating rather than depleting). We tested this hypothesis by manipulating effort with different difficulty levels of the N-back task and measuring participants’ perception of effort expenditure and subjective satisfaction with a reward depending on their willpower beliefs. In accordance with the predictions, we found that those with limited willpower beliefs perceived the task as more effortful than those with non-limited willpower beliefs. Furthermore, when asked to subjectively rate their satisfaction with the reward gained for the task, limited believers rated their satisfaction lower than non-limited believers. These findings suggest that people take their willpower capacities into effort-satisfaction calculations. Results are discussed within the context of other models of effort, and practical implications of the findings are suggested.
AB - The effort required to obtain certain rewards may influence the level of satisfaction with the following reward. Since people differ in beliefs about the availability of willpower resources required to pursue effortful actions, we investigated how willpower beliefs affect the perception of effort and satisfaction with reward. We hypothesized that people with limited willpower beliefs (i.e., believing that exerting effort leads to depletion of their inner resources) will perceive cognitive tasks as more effortful and will be less satisfied with the subsequent reward than those with non-limited beliefs (i.e., believing that exerting effort is invigorating rather than depleting). We tested this hypothesis by manipulating effort with different difficulty levels of the N-back task and measuring participants’ perception of effort expenditure and subjective satisfaction with a reward depending on their willpower beliefs. In accordance with the predictions, we found that those with limited willpower beliefs perceived the task as more effortful than those with non-limited willpower beliefs. Furthermore, when asked to subjectively rate their satisfaction with the reward gained for the task, limited believers rated their satisfaction lower than non-limited believers. These findings suggest that people take their willpower capacities into effort-satisfaction calculations. Results are discussed within the context of other models of effort, and practical implications of the findings are suggested.
KW - Faculty of Science
KW - Effort
KW - Reward satisfaction
KW - Willpower theories
KW - Lay beliefs
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759/a000742
U2 - 10.1027/1015-5759/a000742
DO - 10.1027/1015-5759/a000742
M3 - Journal article
VL - 38
SP - 452
EP - 462
JO - European Journal of Psychological Assessment
JF - European Journal of Psychological Assessment
SN - 1015-5759
IS - 6
ER -
ID: 344795387