Rank and response: A field experiment on peer information and water use behavior

Perception of peer rank, or how we perform relative to our peers, can be a powerful motivator. While research exists on the effect of social information on decision making, there is less work on how ranked comparisons with our peers influence our behavior. This paper outlines a field experiment conducted with 3896 households in Castro Valley, California, which uses household mailers with various forms of social information and peer rank messaging to motivate water conservation. The experiment tests the effect of a visible peer rank on water use, and how the competitive framing of rank information influences behavioral response. The results show that households with relatively low or high water use in the pre-treatment period responded differently to how rank information was framed. I find that a neutrally-framed peer rank caused a small “boomerang effect” (i.e., an increase in average water use) for low water use households, but this effect was eliminated by competitive framing. At the same time, a competitively-framed peer rank demotivated high water use households, increasing their average water use over the full period of the experiment. This result is supported by evidence that the competitive frame on rank information increased water use for households who ranked “last” in the peer group – a detrimental “last place effect” from competitively-framed rankings.     

Exploitation aversion: When financial incentives fail to motivate agents

Studies of the principal-agent relationship find that monetary incentives work in many instances but that they can also backfire. Various mechanisms for this failure have been examined (e.g., intrinsic motivation, image concerns). We posit that an aversion to being exploited, i.e., being used instrumentally for another’s benefit, can also cause incentives to fail. Using an experiment we find that compliance is lower for exploitative principals compared to neutral ones despite using the same contracts. To corroborate our results we show that surveyed “exploitation aversion” mediates this effect. Our results have implications for the design and implementation of incentives within organizations.     

E-commerce: the role of familiarity and trust

Familiarity is a precondition for trust, claims Luhmann [28: Luhmann N. Trust and power. Chichester UK: Wiley, 1979. (translation from German)], and trust is a prerequisite of social behavior, especially regarding important decisions. This study examines this intriguing idea in the context of the E-commerce involved in inquiring about and purchasing books on the Internet. Survey data from 217 potential users support and extend this hypothesis. The data show that both familiarity with an Internet vendor and its processes and trust in the vendor influenced the respondents’ intentions to inquire about books, and their intentions to purchase them. Additionally, the data show that while familiarity indeed builds trust, it is primarily people’s disposition to trust that affected their trust in the vendor. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

"双因素"问题的理论分析

"双因素"关系存在于诸多的管理问题之中.作为企业参与市场竞争基本资格的保健因素,具有壁垒性、同质性、动态扩展性、系统性和沉没成本等特性;而对企业竞争能力起关键作用的激励因素,具有异质性、生命周期性、增值性、自觉生成性和单项突出性等.本文还就"双因素"现象的来源、类别,保健因素与激励因素的相互关系及其经济学内涵等问题,进行了初步探讨.     

学习动机内化的理论反思与教育启示

揭示学习动机的内化规律和特点,有助于提升学生的学习效果,实现教育的目标。通过对现有学习动机理论及其应用研究的梳理,论证了依靠外部教育资源的有效设置来满足学生的基本需求,是促进动机内化的关键。在借鉴西方先进学习动机理念与模式的基础上,为我国学校教育的发展变革提供了一定的参考。     

影响新疆少数民族汉语学习的五个因素

学习环境、学习动机、文化因素、母语和目的语干扰以及考试指挥棒等是目前影响新疆少数民族汉语学习者的重要因素,这些因素虽然对各级各类学生影响的程度不同,但总的方向和性质是相同的。文章认为汉语教师认知这些因素,更有助于学生的理解,并从整体上准确认识和把握汉语教学。     

论高等职业院校英语教学应用归因理论的价值

归因理论是关于人们如何解释自己或他人的行为,以及这种解释如何影响他们的情绪、动机和行为的心理学理论。实践表明,归因理论适应中国高等职业院校的英语教学。师生合理运用归因理论,可以确保教学顺利有序地进行,使学生对英语学习充满兴趣和激情,克服语言自卑感和习得无助感,激发并维持学习动机。高等职业院校的英语教学要以教师为引导,以学生为主体,因此教师要全面、客观地了解学生,努力做到正确进行成败归因,培养学生的学习兴趣,还要帮助他们客观地自我归因,使他们建立并维持对英语的学习动机,使学生的英语学习变＂被动式＂为＂主动式＂。     

新疆非英语专业大学生英语学习动机调查——以新疆非英语专业维吾尔族和汉族大学生为例

文章主要研究新疆非英语专业维吾尔族大学生的学习动机类型及其成因,并将其与汉族大学生的学习动机类型及成因进行对照。结果表明新疆非英语专业维吾尔族大学生具有与汉族大学生同样的动机类型,主要属于工具型动机和内在动机,但也有一部分学生是个人发展动机。此外,他们的自身英语水平对其学习动机具有显著影响。     

中小学生学习动机量表的编制

以奥苏贝尔的学习动机理论为基础,以认知内驱力、自我提高内驱力和附属内驱力三个变量作为学习动机的测量指标,编制了中小学生学习动机问卷。问卷包括认知内驱力、自我提高内驱力、附属内驱力三个分量表。结果表明,该问卷具有良好的信度和效度。此问卷可以作为准确、客观地测量中小学生学习动机的有效工具,有助于我们全面了解中小学生的学习动...     

控股股东掏空动机与多元化的盈余波动效应

多元化经营是公司关注的重大发展问题,因此,多元化经营的动机及其经济后果也成为学者们研究的重点话题。本文从我国上市公司的多元化经营与盈余波动性之间的关系入手对这一问题进行研究,具体分析了公司多元化经营的程度对盈余波动性的影响及控股股东的掏空动机对多元化盈余波动效应的作用。研究发现,我国上市公司的多元化经营显著降低了公司的盈余波动性,多元化程度越高,盈余的波动性越低;但由控股股东代理问题而形成的掏空动机损害了多元化的盈余波动效应。本文的研究为多元化的经济后果增添了新的文献,同时也为上市公司监管提供了参考依据。