tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/quizzes-24472/articlesQuizzes – The Conversation2019-04-30T10:45:25Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1162242019-04-30T10:45:25Z2019-04-30T10:45:25ZCan James Holzhauer be stopped? A former ‘Jeopardy!’ champion weighs in<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271556/original/file-20190429-194606-gzfj5i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=64%2C39%2C1056%2C628&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The sports gambler from Las Vegas has dominated the game like no one else in its 35-year history.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.jeopardy.com/sites/default/files/styles/article_image_960_/public/2019-04/james_1600x900.jpg?itok=KDThUg8Z">Jeopardy Productions</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 1997, fresh out of graduate school, underemployed and watching a lot of television, I realized I was pretty good at “Jeopardy!” </p>
<p>I decided to try out. After a couple tests, interviews, and months of waiting, I was called in, pushed onto a soundstage in Culver City – and won more money in two tape days than I had made in the previous two years, plus two Chevy Camaros. Before 2003, five-time champions were retired with such automotive parting gifts and invited back to play in the annual Tournament of Champions. </p>
<p>During that first run and a later “Ultimate Tournament,” I played the seven-time champion who held the record for the longest winning streak before Ken Jennings, along with three eventual or past winners of the Tournament of Champions. I won all but one of those games. In total, <a href="https://www.j-archive.com/showplayerstats.php?player_id=417">my Jeopardy resume spans 10 games, with eight wins and two tournament losses</a>. </p>
<p>But James Holzhauer is in another league. </p>
<p>The sports gambler from Las Vegas has dominated the game like no one else in its 35-year history. His wins are so lopsided that he’s rendered all but two of his 36 competitors incapable of threatening him in Final Jeopardy. <a href="http://www.j-archive.com/showplayerstats.php?player_id=12600">His average winnings</a> are only a bit smaller than <a href="https://www.jeopardy.com/jbuzz/streaker-updates/james-holzhauer-beats-roger-craigs-1-day-record">the one-day record he demolished</a>. Aside from the number of wins, he is <a href="https://thejeopardyfan.com/2019/04/james-holzhauer-ken-jennings-comparison.html">statistically on par</a> with <a href="https://thejeopardyfan.com/statistics/ken-jennings-final-statistics">74-game winner Ken Jennings</a> – except that Holzhauer wins about twice as much money per game, thanks to his aggressive bets. It’s akin to an NBA player averaging 95 points per game. </p>
<p>How is he doing it? </p>
<p>You might think “Jeopardy!” is a contest of pure cogitation, in which the ability to recall trivia is all that matters. It isn’t. Elite success on “Jeopardy!” requires laser-like focus on winning, via strategy and discipline.</p>
<p>Of course, he couldn’t have made it this far without a mastery of U.S. history, world capitals, the periodic table and all the other standards of cultural literacy that are the show’s stock-in-trade.</p>
<p>But his success also depends on his mastery of the Jeopardy signaling device, a pocket-flashlight-sized plastic tube with a button on one end. You might notice many of Holzhauer’s opponents holding their buzzers aloft in frustration. Since the buzzer rewards timing rather than speed – a technician activates them after Trebek finishes reading a question – buzzing while waving it around is as effective as a wild baseball swing. </p>
<p>Holzhauer keeps his buzzer steady on the lectern, with no wasted motion: You can barely notice him ringing in. The more experience he’s gained with the buzzer, the more of an advantage he accrues. Each new opponent needs to get accustomed to the buzzer; by the time they do, the game is already out of hand. </p>
<p>Then there’s the way he plays. Rather than following convention – going vertically from easy answers to harder ones – Holzhauer marches horizontally across the bottom of the board, selecting the $1,000 squares in order to build a bank, and then almost always doubling his money on the first Daily Double he finds. Even with a commanding lead, he keeps playing aggressively, making Daily Double bets that are nearly quadruple the average wager, while making similarly megalithic Final Jeopardy bets.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271558/original/file-20190429-194637-3221bg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/271558/original/file-20190429-194637-3221bg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271558/original/file-20190429-194637-3221bg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271558/original/file-20190429-194637-3221bg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271558/original/file-20190429-194637-3221bg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271558/original/file-20190429-194637-3221bg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/271558/original/file-20190429-194637-3221bg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=567&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Holzhauer wastes no time in going straight for the $1,000 answers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://img.apmcdn.org/3d99c71126409e8d40c8e7190f5fac466606dda6/normal/7d3015-20160918-prince-jeopardy-jpg.jpg">NBC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There have been Jeopardy greats who have had comparable ease recalling answers and who are as good as Holzhauer on the buzzer. Hunting for and betting big on Daily Doubles isn’t a new tactic either – <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-man-who-solved-jeopardy/">the era of big data has nudged Jeopardy play in these directions over the last 15 years</a>. </p>
<p>But Holzhauer is among the best at all three skills, and is by far the most daring when it comes to his betting strategy.</p>
<p>After reflecting on my conventional, cautious gameplay in my first five wins, I bet far more aggressively in my last five tournament games, wagering the maximum on four out of five Daily Doubles. However, in tournament play, I faced veteran champions, who had comparable experience with the buzzer. Controlling all the Daily Doubles as Holzhauer has done against novices wasn’t feasible. He will keep playing until someone beats him. </p>
<p>So how can he be beaten? </p>
<p>What one can do, another can do. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/dataisbeautiful/comments/93e6zf/jeopardys_daily_double_heatmap_oc/">The placement of Daily Doubles is public knowledge</a>, with some squares more likely to contain the bonus than others. Anyone who wants to beat Holzhauer must try to find them first. To do that, they need to challenge his dominance on the buzzer. Contestants should use as much buzzer practice time in rehearsal and during commercial breaks as the producers are willing to give them, and ought to read <a href="https://www.overdrive.com/media/2338104/secrets-of-the-buzzer">the same advice of former champions that Holzhauer used to prepare</a>.</p>
<p>Humor or trash talk during a game may be useless, but it’s worth trying to disrupt his flow. Too often, his opponents seem psychologically broken within minutes. Holzhauer is relentless, and his competitors must keep taking shots, even if they trail.</p>
<p>Players should habituate themselves out of everyday risk aversion, at least for the show: If you’re too cautious, you assure yourself of losing. In his first two games, Holzhauer’s opponents made timid bets, even after seeing him bet it all. Had they been as aggressive, they would have stayed within striking distance. </p>
<p>Clearly, Holzhauer’s confidence has swelled. He isn’t afraid of losing. His opponents need to give him a reason to be.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hfe5xQ1M7Jw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The wins – and cash – keep piling up.</span></figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/116224/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Rooney does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>There have been ‘Jeopardy!’ greats who can easily answer all the questions, who have mastered the buzzer and who bet big on the Daily Doubles. But Holzhauer possesses an unprecedented level of daring.Michael Rooney, Professor of Philosophy, Pasadena City CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/747362017-03-17T06:24:40Z2017-03-17T06:24:40ZThe Conversation quiz #3<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/161231/original/image-20170316-10932-wcm4ch.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jdhancock/15455219752/in/album-72157648422674998/">JD Hancock</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Have you been reading or snoozing? These 10 teasers will test your knowledge from a week of Conversation content. </p>
<iframe id="quizWidget-380074" width="100%" height="700px" frameborder="0" border="none" src="https://www.boombox.com/widget/quiz/fi9xdWl6emVzLzM4MDA3NA"></iframe><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74736/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Luke, I am your quizmaster.Laura Hood, Senior Politics Editor, Assistant Editor, The Conversation (UK edition)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/739332017-03-03T10:10:34Z2017-03-03T10:10:34ZThe Conversation weekly quiz – #1<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159160/original/image-20170302-14717-3l83hz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">via shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><strong>At The Conversation, we’re constantly finding out amazing new facts about the world from the academics who write for us. So to test how closely you’ve been reading this week, we’ll be running a short quiz each Friday. Answers below … if you need them.</strong> </p>
<p>1: Which 16-year-old future British monarch went to Japan and got famous Japanese tattoo artist Hori Chiyo to ink him?</p>
<p>2: Researchers have found that 55% of people involved in which activity on their mobile phones were under the age of 16? </p>
<p>3: Which iconic funk drummer, who played for Otis Redding and James Brown – and whose famous Funky Drummer drum break has been sampled in over 1,300 songs – died in late February? </p>
<p>4: Which is the UK’s third smallest city? </p>
<p>5: How much does the British curry industry contribute to the UK economy?</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159155/original/image-20170302-14717-urc5tv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159155/original/image-20170302-14717-urc5tv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159155/original/image-20170302-14717-urc5tv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159155/original/image-20170302-14717-urc5tv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=383&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159155/original/image-20170302-14717-urc5tv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159155/original/image-20170302-14717-urc5tv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159155/original/image-20170302-14717-urc5tv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=481&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">British cuisine.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jryde/4336201294/sizes/o/">J</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>6: What function do xylem elements perform inside plants? </p>
<p>7: Which country in Eastern Europe sold people to West Germany and Israel during the Cold War? </p>
<p>8: The 19th-century scientist Luigi Galvani used electricity to animate the dismembered limbs of which animals? </p>
<p>9: Roughly how old are the world’s earliest known fossils, which have recently been discovered in Canada?</p>
<p>10: How many times do mathematicians recommend you shuffle a pack of cards to give a fair deck?</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159154/original/image-20170302-14717-2rv4j0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/159154/original/image-20170302-14717-2rv4j0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159154/original/image-20170302-14717-2rv4j0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159154/original/image-20170302-14717-2rv4j0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159154/original/image-20170302-14717-2rv4j0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159154/original/image-20170302-14717-2rv4j0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/159154/original/image-20170302-14717-2rv4j0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One last time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Daniil Yanopulo via www.shutterstock.com</span></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Answers</h2>
<ol>
<li><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/ink-stigma-the-japanese-tattoo-artists-fighting-back-72943">King George V</a>. </p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/why-teaching-children-about-porn-and-sexting-is-a-step-in-the-right-direction-73001">Sexting</a>. </p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/the-story-of-the-funky-drummer-the-most-exploited-man-in-modern-music-73473">Clyde Stubblefield</a>. </p></li>
<li><p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/small-cities-can-offer-just-as-much-culture-as-larger-ones-73218">City of London</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>More than <a href="https://theconversation.com/tough-immigration-laws-are-hitting-britains-curry-houses-hard-72942">£4 billion</a> a year. </p></li>
<li><p>They <a href="https://theconversation.com/scientists-create-electric-circuits-inside-plants-73711">carry water</a> from the roots to the leaves. </p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/people-have-been-used-as-bargaining-chips-before-by-romanias-nicolae-ceau-escu-73141">Romania</a>. </p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/awesome-erotic-everyday-the-literary-story-of-electricity-73624">Frogs</a>. </p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-we-discovered-the-worlds-oldest-fossils-73802">Between 3.8 billion and 4.3 billion years old</a>. </p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-the-best-way-to-shuffle-a-pack-of-cards-with-a-little-help-from-some-maths-73176">Seven</a> (or 11, depending on how you measure fairness).</p></li>
</ol><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73933/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Test your knowledge in our first ever weekly quiz.Gemma Ware, Head of AudioLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/537902016-02-03T11:10:44Z2016-02-03T11:10:44ZWant to improve motivation? Try this reward<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110030/original/image-20160202-32254-1jchqps.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">What's the secret of motivation?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/morberg/3842815564/in/photolist-6RzrbL-33PQKY-8jsHNw-hw8poX-hTuyve-p6JbAw-8EcUzv-jxDp2U-9bpwuw-pgYUSQ-7Mzk4R-733Xqz-pEHY9R-6d9fXr-gUACXw-eMzRQi-gUBy38-2GvT6s-7xARC4-5k7Juf-8EcUbv-cNnx4E-fiDf6B-fQqbfZ-7cVpPB-66xpY-pHE9BK-kP4wAx-oaQ9Y4-7MDjPo-KB3yj-aSDvyp-4zu2qv-7N4PgZ-6bFFdi-agaHgs-sFycdR-67uKSx-8DSkPb-7npyt5-7yuTwY-7xdtaM-dTBbiU-5vC7MD-dTBba5-6tpEMk-8ih72y-gfCQKq-393CNp-7xeAr4">Niklas Morberg</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Last semester I experimented with a new idea in my consumer behavior class. I gave pop quizzes on the assigned readings but with a little twist.</p>
<p>First and foremost, students were not required to take the quizzes. But if they did take a quiz and they answered it correctly, they would earn a point. If they collected five points over the course of the semester, they would be able to opt out of the final exam if they chose.</p>
<p>There was one catch: if the students took a quiz and answered it incorrectly, then they would lose a point and fall behind in their effort to get to the magic number of five.</p>
<p>I had two different sections of the class, one with 35 students and the other with 27. The required effort in both classes was exactly the same (earn five points from the quizzes). The prize in both classes was also exactly the same (opting out of the final).</p>
<p>So, there should have really not been much of a difference between the two classes regarding their performance on the quizzes. Yet, there was a difference in performance. In fact, quite a substantial difference.</p>
<p>Fewer than half (43 percent) of the students in the first class ended up collecting the necessary five points. But, in the second class, a staggering 82 percent of the students did so.</p>
<p>Could it be that one class had better, more motivated students than the other?</p>
<p>I checked the final course grades for all students in both sections and the grade average for the two sections was almost identical.</p>
<p>So, what happened?</p>
<h2>Difference between a loss and a gain</h2>
<p>A subtle but key difference was in the way I presented the information about the quizzes and the prize of the optional final exam to the students.</p>
<p>Here is what I did:</p>
<p>In the first class, the students were told that the final exam was <em>required</em> but they could earn the right to not take it with five points from the quizzes.</p>
<p>In the second class however, they were told that the final exam was <em>optional</em>. But, they could lose that right if they did not get five points from the quizzes.</p>
<p>In other words, the exact same offer was presented either as a potential gain (earning the right to an optional final) or a potential loss (losing the right to an optional final). </p>
<p>This relates to the idea of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/09/your-money/overcoming-an-aversion-to-loss.html?_r=0">“loss aversion”</a> – i.e., the amount of pain we feel for losing something is higher than the joy we feel for gaining the same thing. For example, most people would be more upset if they lost a US$20 bill than they would be happy if they found $20. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110033/original/image-20160202-32231-yxfkc2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/110033/original/image-20160202-32231-yxfkc2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110033/original/image-20160202-32231-yxfkc2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110033/original/image-20160202-32231-yxfkc2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110033/original/image-20160202-32231-yxfkc2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110033/original/image-20160202-32231-yxfkc2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/110033/original/image-20160202-32231-yxfkc2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Even when the incentive was the same in both classes, students who seemed to lose it valued it more.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/hackny/8673949525/in/photolist-edufZT-6p2GQU-aqQ9Q8-dnz3pd-dM3m7n-3S1QoQ-dcy3H1-ojEury-aLYAp8-edzT7G-nsNwZn-aahYCJ-aaZSTF-guJGG2-edubVv-7AEE17-e3kZz4-9gVYzu-9ru3Kv-9gGXrT-cXjcV5-cXj9XC-ptg9aV-e3mjGe-amnveH-bXcSwB-a1Pfkk-b9wuba-aB6KB4-aaijQA-63VgZe-dXNqxm-a1Pfhc-a1S6F7-dM8UXw-5Ya5KY-aahYZ5-nay6fq-9gGXkx-aag9wX-aanE25-yCrpxL-7ADTYy-aag38R-aahYHj-aaieYG-aaFohy-9ydKRW-7AA8mT-edzJR9">hackNY.org</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The value of ownership</h2>
<p>So, in the case of my class, could it be that the increased value for these students was a function of them “owning” the prize they would lose? </p>
<p>Quite possibly, given that the concept of ownership has been shown to impact perceptions of value. </p>
<p>In a related study, behavioral economist <a href="http://danariely.com/">Dan Ariely</a> and marketing professor <a href="https://www.insead.edu/facultyresearch/faculty/profiles/zcarmon/">Ziv Carmon</a> talked with Duke students who had won Final Four tickets in the lottery. They asked them how much it would take to sell their ticket.</p>
<figure>
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<p>They also contacted students who wanted to go the Final Four but did not win tickets in the lottery, asking them how much they would be willing to spend to buy one.</p>
<p>Students who had a ticket to the game agreed to sell it for an average price of $1,400, about eight times more than what students interested in buying were willing to pay ($170).</p>
<p>This is known as the <a href="http://www.eief.it/butler/files/2009/11/thaler80.pdf">“endowment effect,”</a> a concept introduced by behavioral economist <a href="http://www.chicagobooth.edu/faculty/directory/t/richard-h-thaler">Richard Thaler</a>, which suggests that owners of an item evaluate it significantly more favorably than nonowners. This explains why people expect much more to give up an object than they are willing to pay to obtain it.</p>
<p>In a <a href="http://careymorewedge.com/papers/Endowment.pdf">study</a> using coffee mugs, marketing professor at Boston University <a href="http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/morewedg/">Carey Morewedge</a> and his colleagues suggested that ownership plays an important role in our perceived value of an item. Often, what we own has also sentimental value for us besides just its functional value. </p>
<h2>Motivation in the classroom</h2>
<p>As the semester ended, I shared with my students in both classes what happened and asked for their thoughts.</p>
<p>“I didn’t want to give it up,” said one student referring to having the right to the optional final. Other classmates nodded in agreement.</p>
<p>Given that ownership in this case was not about a tangible object, it is hard to imagine that the “endowment effect” was due to sentimental reasons. Yet, it was strong enough to affect the students’ motivation and performance. </p>
<p>The fact that they had the right to an “optional final” made them perceive it as more valuable than their counterparts who did not have it. Consequently, it increased their motivation to do what was necessary to not lose it.</p>
<p>As “loss aversion” suggests, the disappointment for losing the optional final would have been higher than the excitement for earning it. The motivation of the students in the two classes seems to have been affected accordingly. </p>
<p>So, how can we use these findings to get our students more motivated?</p>
<p>Traditionally we use rewards to encourage desired behavior in the form of “if you do this, then you earn that.” But by framing it this way, we may unintentionally devalue the reward and make students less likely to appreciate it.</p>
<p>Lack of ownership (even for nontangible objects) may lead to lower motivation.</p>
<p>Instead, what if we would offer the reward to everyone but then take it away from those who did not engage in the desired behavior? It seems a bit harsh, but it may also be more effective.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53790/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vassilis Dalakas does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A class tries an experiment on motivation. What do they learn?Vassilis Dalakas, Professor of Marketing, California State University San MarcosLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.