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An examination of the stability and persistence of the Köhler motivation gain effect

Lount, Robert B., Kerr, Norbert L., Messé, Lawrence A., Seok, Dong-Heon, Park, Ernest S. (2008) An examination of the stability and persistence of the Köhler motivation gain effect. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 12 (4). pp. 279-289. ISSN 1089-2699. (doi:10.1037/1089-2699.12.4.279) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:41669)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/1089-2699.12.4.279

Abstract

The current paper reports the findings of an experiment designed to investigate the persistence of motivation gains in small groups. The current study had participants work on a conjunctive task, where they believed that their performance was highly instrumental for the group to perform well. Building on prior work on the Köhler effect, although motivation gains became smaller over time, these gains in effort still remained statistically significant across several work trials. Moreover, the attenuation of the Köhler effect was found to be moderated by the stability of group membership. More specifically, as compared with people who worked with the same partner (i.e., closed groups), gains in effort were found to be more robust for participants who worked with several different partners (i.e., open groups). The current findings help fill an important gap in the motivation gains literature by demonstrating that motivation gains in groups can persist across multiple work trials.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1037/1089-2699.12.4.279
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Psychology
Depositing User: M.L. Barnoux
Date Deposited: 01 Jul 2014 16:48 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:16 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/41669 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Kerr, Norbert L..

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