Financial reward has differential effects on behavioural and self-report measures of listening effort

Figures & data

Figure 1. Depiction of a typical ‘high’ reward trial. In ‘low’ reward trials the pre-trial screen informed participants that the reward was £0.25 rather than £2.50.

Figure 2. (a) Correct response rates (RAU) (b) Mean RTs (log₁₀(s)) (c) Mean self-rated work (RAU) and (d) Mean self-rated likelihood of giving up (RAU) as a function of financial reward for the speech recognition task (**p <.001; *p < .05). Circles represent the moderate listening demands condition, squares represent the high listening demands condition. Error bars represent ±1 standard error of the mean. Results within reward conditions are offset to aid visualisation.

Figure 3. Mean ratings post speech-recognition task using the NASA-TLX questionnaire (higher values indicate greater demands) Error bars represent ±1 standard error of the mean.

Table 1. Group means, standard deviations and ranges for personality traits/cognitive abilities.

	Mean (S.D.)	Range
Competitive excellence (total)	45.67 (10.50)	26 − 65
Personal mastery (total)	74.25 (11.33)	51 − 96
Need for closure (average)	3.80 (.46)	2.87 − 4.80
Backwards digit span	6.42 (.97)	4 − 8
Lexical decision RT (ms)	694.51 (176.73)	512.60 − 1121.26

Table 2. Summary of mixed models.

	Demands	Reward	Demands* Reward	Backwards Digit Span	Lexical decision RT	Competitive excellence	Personal mastery	Need for Closure
Correct response rate	81.23**	0.34	0.04	7.87*	3.77	1.46	1.18	1.73
RT	41.29**	2.55	1.29	<0.01	6.53*	5.79*	0.69	4.16
Work	65.61**	11.30**	0.15	1.91	0.59	<0.01	0.09	1.61
Give Up	56.51**	7.40*	0.53	1.54	1.66	1.17	0.09	1.32

Bold and **p < .001; *p < .05.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, PJC, upon request.