Deci, E. L. (1971). Effects of externally mediated rewards on intrinsic motivation. Journal of personality and Social Psychology, 18(1), 105.

Conducted 2 laboratory and 1 field experiment with 24, 24, and 8 undergraduates to investigate the effects of external rewards on intrinsic motivation to perform an activity. In each experiment, Ss performed an activity during 3 different periods, and observations relevant to their motivation were made. External rewards were given to the experimental Ss during the 2nd period only, while the control Ss received no rewards. Results indicate that (a) when money was used as an external reward, intrinsic motivation tended to decrease; whereas (b) when verbal reinforcement and positive feedback were used, intrinsic motivation tended to increase. Discrepant findings in the literature are reconciled using a new theoretical framework which employs a cognitive approach and concentrates on the nature of the external reward.

 

 

Deci, E. L. (1971). Effects of externally mediated rewards on intrinsic motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 18(1), 105-115.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/h0030644  

Pavot, W., & Diener, E. (1993). The affective and cognitive context of self-reported measures of subjective well-being. Social Indicators Research, 28(1), 1-20.

Researchers attempting to understand the experience of subjective well-being have relied heavily on self-report measurement. Recent research focused on this method has demonstrated that a number of factors, such as the current mood of the respondent and the cognitive and social context surrounding the response, can significantly influence response to items inquiring about global subjective well-being or satisfaction with life. In the present study, several measurement strategies (e.g., single-item measures, multiple-item scales, and memory search tasks) were compared with regard to their susceptibility to such influences. Although some evidence for effects due to item-placement or transient mood were found, all of the global measures of subjective well-being and life satisfaction has significant convergence with peer-reports, and the single-item measures showed good temporal reliability across a one-month interval. The data provide evidence for a significant degree of stability in subjective well-being and life satisfaction.

 

 

Pavot, W., &Diener, E. (1993). The affective and cognitive context of self-reported measures of subjective well-being. Social Indicators Research, 28(1), 1-20.

https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01086714

 

 

Fordyce, M. W. (1988). A review of research on the happiness measures: A sixty second index of happiness and mental health. Social Indicators Research, 20(4), 355-381.

Eighteen years of research using the Happiness Measures (HM) is reviewed in relation to the general progress of well-being measurement efforts. The accumulated findings on this remarkably quick instrument, show good reliability, exceptional stability, and a record of convergent, construct, and discriminative validity unparalleled in the field. Because of this, the HM is offered as a potential touchstone of measurement consistency in a field which generally lacks it.

 

 

Fordyce, M. W. (1988). A review of research on the happiness measures: A sixty second index of happiness and mental health. Social Indicators Research, 20(4), 355-381.

https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00302333

 

 

Fehr, E., &Schmidt, K. (2001). Theories of fairness and reciprocity-evidence and economic applications. Advances in Economics and Econometrics.

Most economic models are based on the self-interest hypothesis that assumes that all people are exclusively motivated by their material self-interest. In recent years experimental economists have gathered overwhelming evidence that systematically refutes the self-interest hypothesis and suggests that many people are strongly motivated by concerns for fairness and reciprocity. Moreover, several theoretical Papers have been written showing that the observed phenomena can be explained in a rigorous and tractable manner. These theories in turn induced a new wave of experimental research offering additional exciting insights into the nature of preferences and into the relative performance of competing theories of fairness. The purpose of this Paper is to review these recent developments, to point out open questions, and to suggest avenues for future research.

 

 

Fehr, E., &Schmidt, K. (2001). Theories of fairness and reciprocity-evidence and economic applications. Advances in Economics and Econometrics.

https://ssrn.com/abstract=264344

 

 

Akerlof, G. A., &Kranton, R. E. (2005). Identity and the Economics of Organizations. Journal of Economic perspectives, 19(1), 9-32.

The economics of organizations is replete with the pitfalls of monetary rewards and punishments to motivate workers. If economic incentives do not work, what does? This paper proposes that workers’ self-image as jobholders, coupled with their ideal as to how their job should be done, can be a major work incentive. It shows how such identities can flatten reward schedules, as they solve “principal-agent” problem. The paper also identifies and explores a new tradeoff: supervisors may provide information to principals, but create rifts within the workforce and reduce employees’ intrinsic work incentives. We motivate the theory with examples from the classic sociology of military and civilian organizations.

 

 

Akerlof, G. A., &Kranton, R. E. (2005). Identity and the Economics of Organizations. Journal of Economic perspectives, 19(1), 9-32.

DOI: 10.1257/0895330053147930

 

Sobel, J. (2005). Interdependent preferences and reciprocity. Journal of economic literature, 43(2), 392-436.

Experiments, ethnography, and introspection provide evidence economic agents do not act to maximize their narrowly defined self interest. Expanding the domain of preferences to include the utility of others provides a coherent way to extend rational choice theory.There are two approaches for including extended or social preferences in strategic models. One posits that agents have extended preferences, but maintains the conventional assumption that these preferences are stable. Prominent examples of this approach permit agents to exhibit concern for status, inequality, and social welfare. The other approach permits the strategic context to determine the nature of individual preferences. Context-dependent preferences can capture the possibility that agents are motivated in part by reciprocity. They may sacrifice personal consumption in order to lower the utility of unkind agents or to raise the utility of kind agents.This paper surveys the evidence in favor of social preferences and describes the implications of the leading theoretical models of extended preferences. It presents behavioral assumptions that characterize different types of social preferences. It investigates the extent to which social preferences may arise as the limit of evolutionary processes. It discusses the relationship between norms of reciprocity and social preferences in repeated interactions.

 

 

Sobel, J. (2005). Interdependent preferences and reciprocity. Journal of economic literature, 43(2), 392-436.

DOI: 10.1257/0022051054661530

 

 

Boskin, M. J., & Sheshinski, E. (1978). Optimal redistributive taxation when individual welfare depends upon relative income. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 92(4), 589-601.

I. Introduction, 589. — II. An optimal negative income tax model, 591. — III. The maximin criterion, 594. — IV. A utilitarian social objective, 597. — V. Conclusion, 598. Our theory … depends upon the validity of a single hypothesis, viz.: that the utility index is a function of relative rather than absolute consumption expenditure. — J. Duesenberry Income, Saving and the Theory of Consumer Behavior

 

 

Boskin, M. J., & Sheshinski, E. (1978). Optimal redistributive taxation when individual welfare depends upon relative income. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 92(4), 589-601.

https://doi.org/10.2307/1883177

   

Holländer, H. (2001). On the validity of utility statements: standard theory versus Duesenberry’s.

The two theories are evaluated relatively with respect to empirical adequacy. It is shown that utility statements derived within the standard approach cannot be related to experience. Contrary to what seems generally believed, revealed preference theory fails to make the widely accepted behavioristic utility concept ordinally measurable. It is argued that the concept of utility as subjective well-being (happiness or satisfaction) is not only theoretically superior, but also measurable from survey information with sufficient precision. If utility is understood as subjective well-being, the available data discredit the standard theory and fully support Duesenberry’s approach.

 

 

Holländer, H. (2001). On the validity of utility statements: standard theory versus Duesenberry’s. Journal of Economic Behavior &Organization, 45(3), 227-249.

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-2681(01)00144-5