The Tom Sawyer Effect

 

Tom Sawyer is the main character in the 1876 literary classic The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain. It is about a good-hearted but mischievous young boy growing up along the Mississippi River in 1840.

Tom Sawyer is a clever, imaginative young fellow. He has a lot of fun but regularly gets himself and his friends into trouble. He is probably most remembered for convincing his friends to paint his Aunt Polly’s fence by making the task, which for him was unpleasant and boring, seem desirable. He motivated his friends to paint the fence by promoting the unappealing task as fun and attractive. Thus, he avoided the work. 

The name for this phenomenon is called the Tom Sawyer effect, and it highlights the power of intrinsic motivation. We use it to describe situations where individuals are more motivated to engage in an activity when they perceive it as enjoyable or when they have a choice in doing it. 

Yes, Tom Sawyer was a very clever fellow. 

Choose, chose, choice

Knowing the correct use of choose, chose, and choice is a common confusion English learners have. 

Choose - (verb) to make a choice or selection
Chose -  (verb) the past tense of choose.
Choice - (noun) the act of choosing; a selection

- Davide couldn’t choose whether to attend Harvard or Yale University. - verb

- Edoardo chose to buy a home in the countryside because he loves nature. - verb, past tense of choose

- Lisa made an excellent choice by buying an electric car. - noun

The problem may be that chose and choice sound very similar, though chose is the past verb and choice is a thing, a noun. 

- In chose, the “s” is pronounced like a “z”; Click here for the correct pronunciation of chose. 

- Choice is a little different. Click here for the correction pronunciation of choice. 

The key to getting it right is memorization, so try your best and you’ll always make the correct choice.