Brain hustles harder when the reward is big

According to a study, the amount of mental effort humans put into a certain task is usually influenced by the gains or the benefits they are going to get

We invest mental effort in a task in response to what we stand to gain, and in response to how much the outcome hinges on our performance, research finds. For example, what makes a person decide to turn off the TV and switch on their brain to complete work for their job?

We tend to assume that the amount of mental effort a person invests in a task is influenced by the reward they stand to gain — so in this case, the effort results in a paycheck, and successful efforts could result in egopumping praise from a supervisor, a bonus, a promotion, or perhaps even a new, higher-paying job.

But what if the person doesn’t believe that their efforts matter, and the reward will be the same no matter how hard they try? How does that person decide how much effort to expend—if any at all?

In three related experiments, the researchers demonstrated that participants performed better on tasks when there was a bigger potential prize and when they felt like their efforts made a difference in earning that prize.

“This study sheds light on the neural circuits that drive motivation, which in turn help us learn more about why people may have trouble getting motivated, whether it be situational or chronic and due to depression or other disorders,” says Amitai Shenhav, study author and an assistant professor of cognitive, linguistic, and psychological sciences at Brown University.