UCL School of Management

14 December 2015

Natural talent vs hard work. What do employers prefer?

Do investors and employers prefer to back someone who displays innate ability or someone who works hard?

In an experiment conducted by Chia-Jung Tsay, investors showed a clear preference for ‘naturals’ over ‘strivers’. However, before the experiment, most participants expressed a proclivity for those who could demonstrate motivation and hard work, which indicates that the bias for natural talent over hard work is unconscious.

Ms Tsay suggests that naturals may be chosen because they are deemed to be better at adapting to an uncertain future.

Read the full articles:
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New York Magazine
Huffington Post
Business Insider
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Scientific American

Last updated Friday, 12 February 2016