Because It Is Fun! Individual Differences in Effort Enjoyment Belief Relate to Behavioral and Physiological Indicators of Effort-Seeking

Effort is commonly characterized as a negative, unpleasant experience. This research explores the extent to which individuals vary in whether they believe effort to be enjoyable or aversive and how this relates to a range of behavioral and physiological indicators of effort exertion. In five studies (N = 2,338), participants either completed an Effort Enjoyment Belief Scale or were experimentally led to believe that effort is enjoyable or aversive. Across our studies, descriptive analyses of the Effort Enjoyment Belief Scale revealed no general tendency among participants to perceive effort as aversive; instead, some participants tended to endorse a belief that effort is enjoyable. Both measured and manipulated effort enjoyment belief predicted difficulty selection on an arithmetic task. Further, the belief predicted effort exertion as assessed via cardiovascular measurements (beta-adrenergic sympathetic activity) and was associated with high school grades and subjective evaluation of academic success at university. These results imply that the subjective cost or value of effort may be affected by (social) learning experiences, shaping individuals' effort enjoyment belief and, in turn, their tendency to approach or avoid demanding tasks and the exertion of effort. Thus, when modeling behavior as the result of a cost-benefit analysis, effort may not contribute exclusively to the costs but also add value to a course of action, depending on individuals' effort enjoyment belief.