Students tended to finish more weekly tasks when a reward or penalty was set

The study

1. 01

   Who took part

   34 college students, half of them men, aged 18 to 50 (about 24 on average). Most, 76%, had a confirmed ADHD diagnosis; the rest had high symptom scores on a checklist.

2. 02

   What they did

   Each student had one 50-minute coaching session a week for eight weeks, led by a trainee psychologist. Each week they picked tasks toward their goals, and sometimes agreed a reward or penalty for finishing one.

3. 03

   What happened

   In weeks with a reward or penalty, students finished about 67% of their weekly tasks, against about 58% in other weeks. Coaches' ratings of motivation tracked how much got done, but students' own ratings did not. The paper gives 23 students in one place and 34 in another, so the numbers don't fully add up.

What the study found

1. No comparison

   When students agreed a reward or penalty, they tended to finish more of the task: about 67% against 58%.

   • Rule: Get a reward or payment for doing itused
   • Rule: Put something at stakeused

   Small study of one group of 34 college students with ADHD · no comparison group · they rated themselves · ⚠ numbers unreliable

2. No comparison

   Coaches' ratings of a student's motivation went with how much got done, but the student's own ratings did not.

   Small study of one group of 34 college students with ADHD · no comparison group · they rated themselves · ⚠ numbers unreliable

Source