Value through cognitive effort: Working for an environmental organization increases subsequent donations

Cognitive effort is a characteristic but understudied feature of many pro-environmental behaviors, and traditionally, it is mostly discussed as a barrier that keeps people from behaving pro-environmentally. In contrast, contemporary frameworks of cognitive effort show that effort can also be beneficial, for example by increasing the subjective value of the outcome of an effortful action. From this new perspective, we conducted an exploratory secondary analysis of existing data from an online study (N = 1160) featuring the Work for Environmental Protection Task (WEPT), which allows participants to exert real cognitive effort in exchange for donations to a pre-selected pro-environmental organization. We found that after performing the WEPT, participants were more likely to donate additional bonus money to their assigned organization compared to an alternative organization, suggesting a higher subjective value of the former. To assess the robustness of this finding, we conducted a high-powered, preregistered confirmatory study (N = 801). We found that the differential pattern in the donation decisions replicated with a larger effect size and was also consistent with self-reported subjective value of the organizations. These findings indicate that spending effort for the benefit of a pro-environmental organization can increase the value assigned to that organization. This resonates with the idea that effort is more than just a barrier and can have a positive effect on pro-environmental behavior.