Effort and Performance

Andrew Matthews/PA Wire

185

September 2024

If you work hard, you get a lot. What seems fair at first glance raises many questions: How is performance measured and evaluated? Is performance really due to individual capacities or is it not also due to social background? And what about the needs of underperforming individuals? These questions are explored in the September issue of WZB-Mitteilungen.

The print issue is available here as a PDF. The online articles on our new focus can be found on this page.

Luck versus Effort

Is hard work alone enough? Of course, not everyone believes that. In her dissertation, Rebecca Wetter examines the belief in meritocracy among applicants for medical school - and how it differs depending on admission or rejection. However, success and failure also change ideas about social inequality in general, because those who believe that success depends mainly on one's own performance underestimate the influence of other factors such as social background. More in the video.