When to do the hard stuff? Dispositions, movitavtion and the choice of difficulties

Melguizo Lopez, Isabel (2016): When to do the hard stuff? Dispositions, movitavtion and the choice of difficulties.

Abstract

We analyze individual decisions of when to face difficult tasks. Although threatening, difficult tasks provide better economic outcomes than easy ones. We argue how individual dispositions, i.e., the expression of some non-cognitive dimensions, might drive timing decisions. Specifically, when experiencing low dispositions, individuals get trapped into low value easy tasks while when experiencing high dispositions, they are willing to always deal with high value difficult tasks. Also, when outcome achievements motivate individuals, they move from low value easy tasks to high value difficult tasks. This finding is interpreted as individuals preparing themselves to cope with difficulties.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: individual dispositions; task difficulty; avoidance behavior
• Subjects: D - Microeconomics > D8 - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty > D83 - Search ; Learning ; Information and Knowledge ; Communication ; Belief ; Unawareness; D - Microeconomics > D8 - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty > D84 - Expectations ; Speculations

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