WHAT The unintended negative consequences of personal quantification
WHEN 2016
WHERE Journal of Consumer Research
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE Tracking the output of activities, such as exercise and eating, can make those activities less enjoyable.
First, let’s start off on the same page. Personal quantification - what is it? It is the tracking of any behavioral output, such as our caloric intake, the number of steps we take in a day, or how many hours of sleep we got last night. Think Fitbit.
Ok, seems like a good thing. Knowing and understanding our behavior and habits can help us make positive choices and engage in more healthy behaviors, right? Yes, but there is also a downside to this. While measurement does increase how much of an activity people do, it decreases how much people enjoy that activity. How?
When we focus on personal quantification to measure output for a certain activity, it ends up making that activity feel like work or a chore. Our focus is on the outcome, rather than the activity itself, and thus our intrinsic motivation diminishes.
Researchers conducted six experiments looking at the following activities: coloring, walking, and reading. Participants were college students and results found that across each activity, enjoyment was reduced.
And in case you think these findings have something to do with college students being lazy, apathetic, self-centered millennials, similar findings have been found across all ages. Preschoolers who were told that eating carrots would make them better at counting ate less carrots and thought the snack tasted worse than did the control group.