When Effort Feels Different: Physiological Evidence of Affective Variation in Real Effort Tasks

Verena Dorner (), Gerlinde Fellner-Röhling (), Gaia Angelica Ferlini (), Nancy Sarah Fink (), Jakob Goldmann (), Anke Greif-Winzrieth (), Sylvia Schranzova (), Cristina-Iasmina Tatar () and Richard Tomek ()
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Verena Dorner: Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU)
Gerlinde Fellner-Röhling: Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU)
Gaia Angelica Ferlini: Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU)
Nancy Sarah Fink: Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU)
Jakob Goldmann: Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU)
Anke Greif-Winzrieth: Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU)
Sylvia Schranzova: Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU)
Cristina-Iasmina Tatar: Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU)
Richard Tomek: Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU)

A chapter in Information Systems and Neuroscience, 2025, pp 271-283 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Real-effort tasks are widely used in economic research to enhance external validity while maintaining experimental control. However, existing research employing physiological measures suggests that individuals exhibit distinct affective responses when engaging in such tasks, challenging fundamental assumptions about their neutrality. This study investigates whether different real-effort tasks elicit divergent emotional responses and how these affect performance. We conducted a laboratory experiment with 18 participants, measuring heart rate (HR) while they completed two distinct real-effort tasks: a monotonous math task and an engaging ball-catching task. Using time series clustering and feature-based clustering, we identified two distinct HR pattern clusters, indicating systematic differences in physiological responses. Our findings suggest that task characteristics influence emotional engagement, which partially impacts performance, depending on task characteristics. This study contributes to experimental economics by demonstrating systematic affective variations in real-effort tasks and emphasizing the need to reconsider their assumed comparability.

Keywords: Heart rate; Time series clustering; Real-effort task; Affective response; Experimental economics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:lnichp:978-3-032-00815-2_25

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-032-00815-2_25

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