Incentives can be a powerful tool for motivating people, but they do not always have the intended effect, as what works for one person may not work for another.
Have you ever wondered why offering rewards for certain tasks can actually decrease motivation?
Ever wondered how rewards and wanting to do something for the fun of it are related? Do these two things change depending on the situation?
So what’s this insidious force that can sabotage our efforts to improve?
In this blog post, learn what the motivation crowding cognitive bias is, its victims and abusers, real-life experiences, and ways to guard against it in your own life. Get informed!
Understanding The “Motivation Crowding“
Motivation crowding is a psychological theory that says that offering external rewards and bonuses for completing a task can sometimes make people less interested and undermine their motivation for that task. So, providing extra incentives may actually reduce their natural desire to do it.
To illustrate my point, here goes an incident of a friend of mine who promised her daughter a toy if she behaved well during a shopping trip. She intended to make the child understand why good behavior is important. But it eventually turned out that the daughter started acting only to earn the reward! This story shows how offering rewards for good behavior can sometimes make children behave only for the reward instead of genuinely understanding why good behavior is important.
The main takeaway here is to be careful when giving out special rewards. It may seem like it helps people in the short term, but it can backfire if you don’t manage it right. So instead, reward everyone, not just those who get the most attention. This will help everyone work together and bring better results in the end.
Exploited And Exploiters
Motivational crowding bias can potentially affect anyone whose intrinsic motivation is replaced with extrinsic incentives such as monetary rewards or punishments. However, the people who may be particularly vulnerable to this type of manipulation are those who are in low-paying jobs, where they may be more likely to rely on external rewards to meet their basic needs.
Additionally, individuals who are highly motivated by their work or personal goals may be more susceptible to experiencing a decline in their intrinsic motivation due to the manipulative effects of motivational crowding bias. It is important to note that anyone can be a victim of this bias, regardless of their social or economic status.
On the other hand, those who take advantage of motivation crowding can be some employers who may use monetary rewards or punishments to incentivize certain behaviors in their employees, which can potentially decrease intrinsic motivation and autonomy. Advertisers and marketers may also use similar techniques to manipulate consumer behavior and encourage purchases.
However, it is important to emphasize that the use of motivational crowding bias in this manner is potentially unethical and can have negative consequences for both the individual and the organization involved.
Day-To-Day Motivational Crowing
Sure, here are five more examples of motivational crowding:
- A company offering an “Employee of the Month” award with a prize. Employees who do not win the award may feel demotivated and less engaged, even if they were previously intrinsically motivated.
- A school offers a pizza party to the class with the highest test scores. Students previously motivated by learning and personal growth may focus solely on earning the reward and may even resort to cheating.
- An artist receives funding from a grant organization to create a new project. The pressure to meet the organization’s expectations and deliverables can cause them to lose their creative spark and become overly focused on pleasing others instead of following their vision.
- A volunteer organization is awarding volunteers who log the most hours of service. Volunteers who were previously motivated by helping others or making a difference in their community may focus solely on logging hours to win the award rather than on doing meaningful work.
Recognizing When You Are Slipping Into The Motivation Crowding Trap
- It can be difficult to identify when you fall into the trap of motivation crowding due to its subtle influence on decision-making. However, there are a few signs that you should watch out for:
- Feeling pressured to make decisions to receive recognition or reward;
- Making decisions based on incentives rather than what is best for you in the long run;
- Becoming overly focused on short-term rewards and neglecting logical thinking;
- Doing things just because that’s what everyone else is doing.
If any of these behaviors sound familiar, it may be a sign that you’re letting motivation crowding cloud your judgment. In such cases, objectively assessing the situation can be helpful to ensure you’re making the best decision for yourself or your team.
Overcoming The Motivation Crowding
Set meaningful goals
When setting goals, ensure they align with your values and beliefs. This can help ensure that you remain intrinsically motivated to achieve them.
Focus on the process
Instead of solely focusing on the outcome, try to enjoy and value the process of achieving your goals. This can help increase intrinsic motivation and reduce the risk of motivation crowding.
Offer non-financial incentives
Consider offering non-financial incentives such as recognition, praise, or opportunities for growth to encourage individuals to engage in desired behaviors.
Foster a positive work culture
Encourage a positive work environment by promoting teamwork, collaboration, and open employee communication.
Provide autonomy and flexibility
Give individuals more freedom over their work processes and offer flexible working arrangements, where possible, to help foster greater intrinsic motivation.
Avoid excessive monitoring
Excessive monitoring can lead to feelings of distrust and reduce intrinsic motivation among individuals. Instead, focus on building trust through clear communication and transparency.
Emphasize social responsibility
Highlighting the social impact of an individual’s actions can help increase intrinsic motivation towards a particular goal or behavior, reducing the risk of motivation crowding.
Final Thoughts
Imagine this; you are at the gym, sweating it out on the treadmill, when suddenly you hear a ding! And look down to see that you’ve earned a “10,000 steps” badge from your fitness center. You feel a sense of accomplishment…but does that badge really keep you healthy?
Do you know, according to research on motivational crowding, the answer may not be so simple? You see, external incentives like fitness badges can actually undermine your internal motivation to exercise. It’s like the saying goes: too much of a good thing can be bad.
On the other hand, if you’re someone who struggles to get motivated to work out, a fitness badge could be just the push you need to get moving. This incentive helped you achieve your fitness goals.
So, can fitness badges keep one healthy? In this case, some people may focus on only earning the reward rather than enjoying physical activity, and this is certainly not a healthy situation, is it not?
Finally
Moderation is the key to anything in one’s life, and a fitness badge may be used just as a tool to boost your motivation. But don’t let them become a crutch that you rely on to stay active. At the end of the day, who do you think is the only person who can truly keep you healthy is?…YOU!
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Reference
The above article is based on the book Thinking Clearly; this article is here to help us learn and understand how our minds can be tricked by something called cognitive biases.