Peer pressure, incentives, and gender: An experimental analysis of motivation in the workplace

B-Tier
Journal: Labour Economics
Year: 2010
Volume: 17
Issue: 1
Pages: 276-283

Authors (3)

Bellemare, Charles (Université Laval) Lepage, Patrick (not in RePEc) Shearer, Bruce (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

0.670 = (α=2.01 / 3 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

We present results from a real-effort experiment, simulating actual workplace conditions, comparing the productivity of workers under fixed wages and piece rates. Workers, who were paid to enter data, were exposed to different degrees of peer pressure under both payment systems. The peer pressure was generated in the form of private information about the productivity of their peers. We have two main results. First, we find no level of peer pressure for which the productivity of either male or female workers is significantly higher than the productivity without peer pressure. Second, we find that very low and very high levels of peer pressure can significantly decrease productivity (particularly for men paid fixed wages). These results are consistent with models of conformism and self-motivation.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:labeco:v:17:y:2010:i:1:p:276-283
Journal Field
Labor
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-24