Research published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General explores how effort influences decision-making, revealing that future effort generally reduces the appeal of outcomes, while past effort increases their perceived value. In an experiment, participants could choose between cash or a mug that required physical effort to earn. Results show a tendency to place less value on future efforts and more value on past efforts. Additionally, the study highlights individual differences in how people evaluate effort, uncovering four distinct patterns in responses to past versus future effort decisions.
When considering future effort, more work makes the outcome less appealing, but completing work increases its perceived value.
Our experiment revealed that while past effort generally increases perceived value, future effort typically decreases it, highlighting individual differences in this response.
We found that future and past efforts shape people's valuation of outcomes differently, with time influencing decision-making in unexpected ways.
Individual differences in how effort affects decision-making demonstrate that not everyone values effort the same way, leading to four distinct response patterns.
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