Studies have consistently shown that the classic "homo economicus" doesn't behave rationally when given choices with varying rewards. There are multiple studies in which people were split into groups and asked to do something (solve a puzzle, donate blood, etc). Some were told they weren't getting paid. Some were told they were getting paid. In most cases offering the reward caused people to **not do the rewarded thing**. Suddenly they weren't solving a puzzle out of an intrinsic drive to see it solved, they were doing it to make $10. When given another puzzle, they weren't really interested in it. People who were given an opportunity to donated blood for money were actually 20% _less likely_ to donate than those who were merely given an opportunity sans the monetary reward. **** # More ## Source - [[Drive]] ## Related - [[Reward Don't Make for Good Work]]