Effects of Alternative Activities on Time Allocated to Task Performance Under Different Percentages of Incentive Pay

Abstract

This study examined the effects of different percentages of incentive pay on the time spent working and on the performance of a quality inspection task when competitive alternative tasks were available. The independent variables were the percentage of incentive pay and the number of opportunities to play computer games. Three percentages of incentive pay were examined: 0%, 10%, and 100%. Opportunities to play computer games were provided either 2 or 4 times during a 70-minute session. A3 2 factorial design was used. Participants were 106 college students. Geometric figures were presented on a computer screen, and participants indicated which were defective. The dependent variables were the time spent working and the number of screens completed correctly. Participants who received incentive pay worked significantly longer than those who received base pay only, however, time spent working was not affected by the level of incentive. Although a significant correlation was found between the time worked and performance, there were no differences between the three groups with respect to task performance. Previous researchers have suggested that the main effect of incentives may be to increase the time spent working. This is the first study to demonstrate that time working was a function of incentive pay.

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