Will people work hard on a task they choose? Social-eyes priming in different cultural contexts

Although previous work shows that people are strongly motivated to work on a task they choose, little is known on the boundary conditions for this effect. Here, we hypothesized that European Americans work hard on a task they choose in private so as to achieve their independence. In support of this hypothesis, we found that performance in an alleged IQ test increased when the test was chosen in the absence of social-eyes priming for European Americans and, moreover, this effect was more pronounced for independently oriented individuals. We also hypothesized that Asians work hard on a task they choose in public so as to establish their interdependence. In support of this hypothesis, we found that performance in the IQ test increased when the choice was made in the presence of the social-eyes priming for Asians and, moreover, this effect tended to be more pronounced for interdependently oriented individuals. Implications for theories of culture and motivation are discussed.

► We examine when choice is motivating across cultures.
► European Americans work hard on a task they choose in private.
► This effect is more pronounced for independently oriented Americans.
► Asians work hard on a task they choose in public.
► This effect is more pronounced for interdependently oriented Asians.