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Heterogeneous motivation and cognitive ability in the lab

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  • Taylor, Matthew P.

Abstract

I test whether economics experiments that estimate the relationships between cognitive ability and economic behavior are biased because they fail to account for differences in motivation among subjects when they measure cognitive ability without compensating them for performance. I find that monetary incentives do not significantly improve average performance on cognitive reflection test (CRT) questions, but subjects classified as low ability based on unpaid scores tend to improve their performance when they are paid for performance relative to high ability subjects. This heterogeneous response to monetary incentives appears to bias estimates of the relationships between cognitive ability and trust and risk aversion downward, but does not have the same systematic effect for strategic reasoning.

Suggested Citation

  • Taylor, Matthew P., 2020. "Heterogeneous motivation and cognitive ability in the lab," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:soceco:v:85:y:2020:i:c:s221480431930357x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socec.2020.101523
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    Cited by:

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    2. Graham, Byron & Bonner, Karen, 2022. "One size fits all? Using machine learning to study heterogeneity and dominance in the determinants of early-stage entrepreneurship," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 42-59.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cognitive ability; Intrinsic motivation; Reasoning; Trust; Risk;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty

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