Department of Economics

The crowding out of intrinsic motivation is a fairly well-documented phenomenon in the realm of experimental economics, causing individuals to make decisions that are counter-intuitive to the standard set of neoclassical preferences. Although it has been tested and replicated in many settings, not all precursors that affect motivation crowding have been identified. Our field test finds that the subgroup of individuals that strongly identify with the community likely cause the recapture of intrinsic motivation to contribute at low incentive levels. Even though leading theory predicts high levels of motivation crowding in our environment, results show that none is observed at every level of financial incentive and that the subgroup of individuals who identify strongly with the community are 27% more likely to contribute.