Loss Aversion as Incentive to Study Guglielmo Volpe School of Economics and Finance Queen Mary University of London Developments in Economics Education.
In 2014/15 Students could see only their own resultsSummary statisticsnIn Class testsProjectExam2011/1213668.766.253.32012/1318662.971.261.32013/1419174.069.753.62014/1519770.267.856.6Average assessment marks over the yearsTesting for differences in meansThe average in-class test results are significantly higher under the loss aversion frameworkThe 2014/15 average test scores are significantly (at 5% level) lower than in 2013/14Does comparing relative performance spur incentives to work harder?There are no significant differences in the project average scoresThere is a significant difference in average exam scores between 2012/13 and 2013/14It is likely that this difference has to do with my exam paper design.But, generally, no evidence of impact on exam marks.Random thoughts..Could loss-aversion play a role? More statistical analysis.Need to check for gender differences?Treatment and Control GroupsBorrow insights from behavioural economics?Potentially costless changes that have positive impact?E.g.: group work, learning diaries, learning contract etc. to ameliorate time inconsistency problem?