30d • General
It is about the sensitivity to the value of the outcome
Hey everyone, I’ve been diving into a new motivation study this week, and now we finally have it in black and white. It’s honestly mind-blowing to see where our current approaches in corporate training and instructional design are hitting a wall.
The heart of the matter is this: Research shows that the perceived "cost" of effort stays pretty much the same day-to-day. What actually shifts significantly is our sensitivity to the value of the outcome: our reward sensitivity.
This flips our entire logic on its head. We often try so hard to make learning "easier" across the board by lowering hurdles. But according to the data, that’s the completely wrong variable to focus on. The problem isn’t that the hurdle is too high; it’s that the finish line doesn't look valuable enough in the learner's eyes at that specific moment.
And here is the point that feels totally counterintuitive: the weekly rhythm. Usually, we think people are at their peak at the start of the week and then lose motivation as they get closer to the weekend because they just want to check out. But the research says the opposite: Motivation actually tends to rise toward Thursday and Friday. Statistically, that is when people are most ready to really put in the effort. From Monday through Wednesday, the signal for reward value is structurally much weaker.
And remember: the reward of learning is personal empowerment and long-term impact. NOT a prize after the session.
Here is the study: https://www.pnas.org/doi/pdf/10.1073/pnas.2417964122
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It is about the sensitivity to the value of the outcome
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