Money talks…& motivates?
A month into 2019 already and we’ve probably already forgotten our new years resolutions, am I right? Atop many annual lists are desires to hit the gym more often, and attain optimal fitness to improve our general health and well being. Suffice to say, the motivation garnered on the first of January every year fizzles quickly into the back of our minds, ready to be visited again, perhaps… next year.
Maybe it’s time we look at the science behind motivation, and see where we can improve and make the most of 2019. Intriguing research from Carrera et al. demonstrates the effectiveness of incentives to work out - can money fuel the habits we so desire to create? The findings are quite eye opening.
Three kinds of incentives were introduced to study participants, all based on financial motivators. Gift cards and self-chosen Amazon products were examined for their ability to improve gym attendance over a six week period, being given as a reward if the person had worked out at least 9 times in that duration.
Across the board, it was shown that these incentives didn’t have much effect, contrary to initial beliefs that these incentives would aid habit formation. Between the control groups who received a gift card without the need to fulfill a quota of gym visits, and the groups who had received some external motivation, there was hardly any difference in the amount of workouts completed. This was even so, for any differences between a $30 and a $60 reward. Do we really hate the gym that much?
Several reasons can underlie these questionable findings; overconfidence being a strong one and possibly a variable for future exploration - many people seemed to be overly certain that they would meet the 9 session threshold and ultimately ended up not making sufficient effort to attain it. Thus, it begs the question of whether not per visit incentives with instant gratification could’ve worked better.
The authors point to interesting ways to adjust and fine tune the manner these incentives are given. Whether it’s instant gratification, a shorter window of delay of rewards, a one size fits all solution simply does not work for motivating. Nonetheless, setting realistic goals, and tempering expectations is a good start. All hope isn’t given up just yet - we may just be cracking the surface of understanding motivation. Perhaps 2019 will be the year we do.
Source:
Carrera, M., Royer, H., Stehr, M., & Sydnor, J. (2018). Can financial incentives help people trying to establish new habits? Experimental evidence with new gym members. Journal of health economics, 58, 202-214.
Comments