Do Incentives Work for You?

[DekuPrincess]

A lot of interesting research has been done on whether or not incentives actually help people learn/work harder/etc. Most of the findings have been mixed, but I'm curious as to whether or not incentives work for you as an individual, and if so, how? Do they work at school, at work, at home? Do you use them on yourself?

Personally, I have found that incentives do not work for me when offered by others, as I generally feel that if something is worth doing it is worth doing right, especially at work. But I do use an incentive system in my personal life when I need to motivate myself to get something done--if I log a few extra hours at work I get to take a bubble bath, or if I run an extra mile every day for a week I'll buy a nicer bottle of wine than usual. Right now I'm trying to lose a few pounds to be a little healthier, and my reward once I hit my target weight is going to be playing WW again for the first time since it came out. I have two pounds to go...

 

[octorok74]

Not really. I do stuff, because it has to be done. Not because someone offered me something for it. Sure, little perks are nice, but I don't need them. Because then you aren't doing what needs to be done for the right reason.

 

[misskitten]

It works for a while, but then I kind of slip and I let myself get the rewards without doing the work, lol.

 

[Ventus]

Incentives need to be there in order for me to do the job. Otherwise I will feel totally uncompelled. It happens to me at work. Happens to me at school. If there's extra benefits, I'll do the job crisp and clean.

 

[A Link In Time]

The biggest incentive is the reward of completing a task correctly and granting yourself future opportunity.

At an early age, some children are prodded by their parents to try in school but I'd always been motivated to do my best because I knew it determined what colleges I'll go to before obtaining a profession.

For the most part, I do what I do because I enjoy it. Incentives will prompt me to work harder in achieving my goals quicker.

 

[Viral Maze]

Depends on the incentive. If I'm giving myself incentives for working harder, the incentive will obv be something I enjoy, so I will work harder. If it's something someone else imposes on me, and I couldn't care less about it, then I'll probably put in the same amount of effort as usual, or maybe a bit more.

 

[Killjoy262]

I take it that "Incentives" are basically bribes? If so then they aren't needed. I just do whatever needs to be done just to get it out of my way.

 

[The Marshal]

Incentive or not, if something needs to be done it will be done.

 

[Dan]

Yes they do and I enjoy them.

 

[Terminus]

It works for a while, but then I kind of slip and I let myself get the rewards without doing the work, lol.

Pretty much this.

 

[gannondorf]

I would say that incentives would only be be rather appealing if you can make me an offer that grabs my own interest and benefits only goals of mine.

i would also say that an incentive would only work up to a point though.


my interests including learning, gaining knowledge,improving myself physically and mentally and doing cool things with math,science and computers.

right in this area, is were an incentive may completely make or brake down because these few things are a critical thing, a main attracting force that dictates whether or not the incentive would work.

if it does not work at first, it won't work at all under these conditions and if it did work under these conditions, straying from these conditions would render the incentive ineffective.