13 checked facts

Motivation

Everything on this site about motivation — each one naming the study behind it.

You stop loving things when you are paid.
Introducing external rewards for an activity you enjoy can reduce your intrinsic motivation to do it.…
You sabotage your own work to protect your ego.
A 1978 study showed that students would rather choose a drug that hinders their performance than risk failing without …
Rewards can turn your favorite hobby into a chore.
Extrinsic incentives often reduce the intrinsic motivation you initially felt for an activity.…
You work significantly faster as you approach a goal.
The goal gradient effect shows that the closer you are to finishing a task, the more effort you invest to complete it.…
You keep reading this book because you started.
Investing time or money in a failing venture makes you paradoxically more likely to continue investing further.…
Rewarding a behavior you enjoy will make you quit.
The overjustification effect occurs when external incentives decrease your intrinsic motivation to perform an activity…
You work faster as the finish line appears.
A 2006 study by Kivetz, Urminsky, and Zheng provided empirical evidence supporting the goal gradient effect in consume…
You are more motivated on the first of January.
A 2014 study found that people seek more 'fresh start' opportunities during temporal landmarks like birthdays or new y…
You exert less individual effort when working in groups.
The phenomenon of reduced individual output in groups is known as the Ringelmann effect, which was later named social …
Rewarding a task you enjoy kills your intrinsic motivation.
The foundational 1973 study by Lepper, Greene, and Nisbett demonstrated the effect using art and drawing activities, n…
You work harder as you approach a goal.
A 2006 study by Kivetz, Urminsky, and Zheng empirically resurrected the 1932 'goal-gradient hypothesis' by showing tha…
Rewards can destroy your love for a hobby.
A 1973 study showed children offered a reward for drawing spent significantly less time drawing during subsequent free…
You value a goal more when it requires significant effort.
A 1959 study demonstrated that individuals rated a discussion group as more interesting if they had to undergo an emba…