Payoff: The Hidden Logic That Shapes Our Motivations (TED 2)

The more effort we put into the design, the more likely we are to enjoy the end product.

As an added bonus, we are all also largely blinded by our egocentric bias; we just don’t seem to recognize that the love for the outcome of our own efforts is limited to us alone.

The lesson: Just like the origami builders, Sumi and I too have an egocentric bias. Our taste is most likely just our taste, and very few people share it—but it was hard for us to truly appreciate and understand this.

The more effort we put into the design, the more likely we are to enjoy the end product.

I also realized how many of our motivations spring from trying to conquer a sense of helplessness and reclaim even a tiny modicum of control over our lives.

On the positive side, these results also show that we can increase motivation simply by acknowledging the efforts of those working with us.

Yet our participants’ behavior clearly revealed that we are strongly motivated by identity, the need for recognition, a sense of accomplishment, and feeling of creation.

These results show that when we are acknowledged for our work, we are willing to work harder for less pay, and when we are not acknowledged, we lose much of our motivation.

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