| |
| author |
Sierra Walker
| | title |
The Easy Addendum Effect: When Can Adding a Little Help a Lot
| | abstract |
Previous, groundbreaking research by Lai et al. (2023) proposed the existence of the easy
addendum effect. The effect states that adding a set of distinguishably easier tasks at the end of
an activity can reduce overall difficulty perceptions for the whole activity. Research about this
phenomenon built on existing literature about human motivation, averaging effects, and the
peak-end rule to explore its boundary conditions and downstream consequences. Specifically,
Lai et al. (2023) found that category distinction served as a boundary condition to the easy
addendum effect and that the phenomenon affected both satisfaction and persistence. To examine
the research by Lai et al. (2023) and assess the replicability of their studies, I carried out two
replication studies, produced analyses of subsamples of the original data, and replicated their
data analyses. Replication of the original analyses yielded identical results. Analyses of 30
subsamples, pulled from the original data of two of Lai et al's (2023) studies, demonstrate that
finding statistically significant relationships between easy addendum conditions and difficulty
perceptions is unlikely in small (22 case) samples. Falling in line with these analyses,
replications of two studies using small samples, yielded no statistically significant results, likely
due to the small sample size and the small effect sizes presented in the original research. This
paper concludes that while the results put forth by Lai et al. (2023) cannot be replicated using a
smaller sample, future research should evaluate the easy addendum effect using a broader set of
tasks amongst different settings.
| | school |
The College of Liberal Arts, Drew University
| | degree |
B.A. (2025)
|
| advisor |
Alexander de Voogt
|
| committee |
Steven Kass
Jonathan Reader
|
| full text | SWalker.pdf |
| |
