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Large stakes and big mistakes

Publication ,  Scholarly Edition
Ariely, D; Gneezy, U; Loewenstein, G; Mazar, N
April 15, 2009

Workers in a wide variety of jobs are paid based on performance, which is commonly seen as enhancing effort and productivity relative to non-contingent pay schemes. However, psychological research suggests that excessive rewards can, in some cases, result in a decline in performance. To test whether very high monetary rewards can decrease performance, we conducted a set of experiments in the U.S. and in India in which subjects worked on different tasks and received performance-contingent payments that varied in amount from small to very large relative to their typical levels of pay. With some important exceptions, very high reward levels had a detrimental effect on performance. © 2009 The Review of Economic Studies Limited.

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Publication Date

April 15, 2009

Start / End Page

451 / 469

Related Subject Headings

  • Economics
  • 3803 Economic theory
  • 3802 Econometrics
  • 3801 Applied economics
  • 14 Economics
 

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Ariely, D., Gneezy, U., Loewenstein, G., & Mazar, N. (2009). Large stakes and big mistakes. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-937X.2009.00534.x
Ariely, D., U. Gneezy, G. Loewenstein, and N. Mazar. “Large stakes and big mistakes,” April 15, 2009. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-937X.2009.00534.x.
Ariely D, Gneezy U, Loewenstein G, Mazar N. Large stakes and big mistakes. 2009. p. 451–69.
Ariely, D., et al. Large stakes and big mistakes. 15 Apr. 2009, pp. 451–69. Scopus, doi:10.1111/j.1467-937X.2009.00534.x.
Ariely D, Gneezy U, Loewenstein G, Mazar N. Large stakes and big mistakes. 2009. p. 451–469.

DOI

Publication Date

April 15, 2009

Start / End Page

451 / 469

Related Subject Headings

  • Economics
  • 3803 Economic theory
  • 3802 Econometrics
  • 3801 Applied economics
  • 14 Economics