Effect of monetary incentives on MFA writers’ creative output quality

Ascertain whether the monetary payments provided to MFA creative‑writing participants for producing up to 450‑word emulation excerpts enhanced the quality and creativity of their outputs compared to output driven by intrinsic motivation.

Background

The paper recruited MFA candidates from top U.S. programs to write short excerpts emulating specific authors’ styles, compensating each participant. In the Limitations section, the authors note uncertainty about whether such payment influenced creative performance, given that intrinsic motivation is often critical in artistic work.

Clarifying the causal effect of monetary incentives on creative writing quality in this controlled emulation task would strengthen the interpretability of human–AI comparisons and the generalizability of behavioral findings.