Motivational intensity rises and falls nonlinearly with task difficulty.

Evidence

Research has revealed that the intensity of motivation to achieve a goal is a nonlinear function of the difficulty of the behavior required for goal achievement (for reviews see Brehm & Self, 1989; Wright, 1996). In situations in which the difficulty of achieving a goal is unknown, motivation rises to its maximum level of intensity as set by the importance of the goal, thus energizing the individual to engage in the highest level of goal-directed activity justified by the subjective importance of the goal. In other words, without knowing how difficult it will be to fulfill a desired goal, the intensity of motivation is a function of the value of the goal alone. When, however, the difficulty of achieving the goal is known to be quite low, the intensity of motivation will be much lower, because less effort is needed in order for the goal to be achieved. As the difficulty of achieving the goal increases, so does motivational intensity, but only up to a point. When the required effort outweighs the value of the goal or when the task is so difficult it appears impossible, individuals will not anticipate engaging in goal-oriented behavior and motivational intensity should drop substantially. — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt, 558

In situations in which the difficulty of achieving a goal is unknown, motivation rises to its maximum level of intensity as set by the importance of the goal, thus energizing the individual to engage in the highest level of goal-directed activity justified by the subjective importance of the goal. In other words, without knowing how difficult it will be to fulfill a desired goal, the intensity of motivation is a function of the value of the goal alone. When, however, the difficulty of achieving the goal is known to be quite low, the intensity of motivation will be much lower, because less effort is needed in order for the goal to be achieved. As the difficulty of achieving the goal increases, so does motivational intensity, but only up to a point. When the required effort outweighs the value of the goal or when the task is so difficult it appears impossible, individuals will not anticipate engaging in goal-oriented behavior and motivational intensity should drop substantially. Therefore, when the importance of the goal is low, relatively low levels of difficulty will outweigh the importance of the goal; when the importance is high, the point at which the intensity of motivation will drop off (and not continue to increase) will be at a higher level of difficulty. … One of the interesting implications of this theory is that emotional intensity will be low when deterrence is either very low or sufficiently high. — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt, 558

Categorization

• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt: International…, 558
• XREF: connects to: Men feel most collective guilt when reparations are moderately difficult. — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt: International…, 575; Demanding too much or too little both suppress dominant-group guilt. — Nyla R. Branscombe and Bertjan Doosje (eds.), Collective Guilt: International…, 616; Realistic optimism, not blind belief, sustains effort on difficult tasks — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 2824 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Realistic optimism, not blind belief, sustains effort on difficult tasks #qualifies (0.72) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2824
• Response sets shrink as comprehension and motivation grow. #complicates (0.70)