Effects of Awareness of Alternative Incentive Magnitude and Shifts in Magnitude on Card Sorting

Abstract

The absolute and relative interpretations of incentive magnitude were examined. 80 Ss aged 20 to 67 yr. sorted cards for 20 trials. During Trials 1 to 13, Ss responded under either high or low reward (25¢ vs $3.00) and were either aware or unaware of the alternative incentive size. Rewards were earned for a women's club. Neither interpretation was supported, as no differences were found. Half of each group was shifted to the alternative size and all Ss sorted for 7 more trials. No effects of shift were found. Failure to find differences in either phase was discussed in terms of the incentive used and its delivery to the organization.