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Contribution Details
| Type | Journal Article |
| Scope | Discipline-based scholarship |
| Title | Working when no one is watching: Motivation, test scores, and economic success |
| Organization Unit | |
| Authors |
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| Item Subtype | Original Work |
| Refereed | Yes |
| Status | Published in final form |
| Language |
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| Journal Title | Management Science |
| Publisher | Institute for Operations Research and the Management Science |
| Geographical Reach | international |
| ISSN | 0025-1909 |
| Volume | 58 |
| Number | 8 |
| Page Range | 1438 - 1457 |
| Date | 2012 |
| Abstract Text | This paper provides evidence that scores on simple, low-stakes tests are associated with future economic success because the scores also reflect test takers' personality traits associated with their level of intrinsic motivation. To establish this, I use the coding speed test that was administered without incentives to participants in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY). I show that, controlling for cognitive ability, the coding speed scores are correlated with future earnings of male NLSY participants. I provide evidence that the coding speed scores relate to intrinsic motivation. I show that the scores of the highly motivated, though less educated, group (potential recruits to the U.S. military), are higher than the NLSY participants' scores. I use controlled experiments to show directly that intrinsic motivation is an important component of the unincentivized coding speed scores and that it relates to test takers' personality traits. |
| Digital Object Identifier | 10.1287/mnsc.1110.1509 |
| Other Identification Number | merlin-id:7647 |
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