Effort and Motivation Games Flashcards

In the Pymetrics effort task, what does it mean when a candidate consistently chooses lower-effort options even for high-reward trials?

Answer: They may score lower on the effort-motivation trait

Choosing low-effort options on high-reward trials signals lower motivation to exert physical or cognitive effort for gain, which pymetrics flags on the effort-motivation dimension.

Which psychological construct does the Pymetrics effort game MOST directly measure?

Answer: Willingness to exert effort for reward

The effort game is designed to quantify how willing a person is to exert physical or cognitive effort in exchange for varying levels of reward.

A candidate always exerts maximum effort regardless of reward size in the Pymetrics effort game. How is this profile typically interpreted?

Answer: High intrinsic motivation but poor reward sensitivity

Always exerting maximum effort without adjusting to reward level can indicate high intrinsic drive but reduced sensitivity to extrinsic reward signals.

In Pymetrics effort-related games, what is the significance of the 'effort-reward calibration' score?

Answer: It reflects how well your effort scales with offered reward

Effort-reward calibration captures whether a candidate appropriately increases effort when rewards increase and reduces effort when rewards decrease.

Why do Pymetrics effort games use real-time physical input (like repeated key presses) rather than survey questions about motivation?

Answer: Physical tasks reduce the ability to self-present and reveal actual behavior

Behavioral tasks make it harder to fake responses compared to self-report surveys, giving a more authentic signal of a candidate's motivational tendencies.

In the Pymetrics effort game, a high-reward trial is presented and the candidate exerts moderate effort. What does this likely indicate compared to a candidate who exerts maximum effort?

Answer: The moderate-effort candidate may have lower motivation sensitivity to reward

Failing to increase effort proportionally on high-reward trials suggests lower responsiveness to external incentives, a key dimension pymetrics measures.

Which of the following BEST describes the purpose of including multiple effort trials with different reward levels in Pymetrics?

Answer: To create a dose-response curve mapping effort to reward sensitivity

Multiple reward levels allow pymetrics to build a curve showing how a candidate's effort input responds to changes in reward magnitude — a core motivational signature.