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The difference between someone doing the bare minimum and them going the extra mile comes down to a key aspect of human psychology, which craves recognition and feedback. Without it, all hope of productivity is lost.
Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist at Duke University, has seen this firsthand when college students play with toys.
In 2008, Ariely designed a set of experiments in which groups of Duke students were paid a small and continually declining amount of money for each Bionicle action figure they put together. In one version of the experiment, the researchers put each completed Bionicle on the desk beside the previous one, letting the group see how much progress they’d made. In the other version, the Bionicle was immediately taken apart and given back to group members.
Ariely’s team found a stark difference in each group’s productivity levels. The first group put together an average of 11 Bionicles, earning them $14.40. The other group, meanwhile, put together just 7 Bionicles, earning $11.52.
For Ariely, this was a keyhole insight into productivity. He reasoned that when people can bask in the fruits of their labor, they are more likely to work hard. If someone spends time on a project, even if it’s 10 minutes putting together a toy, they’ll feel more motivated if they can enjoy the final product.
Timestamped video further detailing experiment
