When Is One Dollar Worth More than Two?

In an experiment, participants were 68% more likely to complete a task if their reward was uncertain – if they stood to receive either $1 or $2, based on a coin flip – than if the reward was simply $2, says a team led by Luxi Shen of the Chinese University of Hong Kong. 

This and other studies suggest that the excitement of a reward’s uncertainty can sometimes motivate people to invest more time and effort in a task.

 Marketers take heed: As long as consumers focus mainly on the fun and don’t focus too much on the amount, framing a discount as uncertain can make shopping seem like a game and generate consumer excitement, the researchers say.