Pay is a sign of how valued I am. If my pay is low I might not need more money but I need the recognition that I'm valued that comes from more pay.
as others have pointed out, pay is inextricably tied with perceptions of fairness, so it's a highly relative measure. if programmers are paid 30k on average, then getting 35k seems fair to you. but if the average is 60k, then 35k seems insulting.
Are you doing good work within the context of the duties in the job description? I think a good manager will praise that work but that’s essentially fulfilling your end of the work/pay contract. Expecting continuous raises for meeting agreed upon expectations comes across as entitlement beyond the scope of that labor agreement.
But if you’re consistently doing well beyond your previously agreed upon duties, then there’s grounds for expecting a pay increase because the employer is no longer upholding their end of that bargain