1Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania.
Psychol Sci. 2014 Mar;25(3):772-80. doi: 10.1177/0956797613516801. Epub 2014 Jan 22.
Individuals regularly face adversity in the pursuit of goals that require ongoing commitment. Whether or not individuals persist in the face of adversity greatly affects the likelihood that they will achieve their goals. We argue that a seemingly minor change in the individual's original choice set-specifically, the addition of a no-choice option-will increase persistence along the chosen path. Drawing on self-perception theory, we propose that choosing from a set that includes a no-choice (do nothing) option informs individuals that they both prefer the chosen path to other paths and that they consider this path alone to be worth pursuing, an inference that cannot be made in the absence of a no-choice option. This unique information strengthens individuals' commitment to, and increases their persistence on, their chosen path. Three studies employing incentive-compatible designs supported our predictions and ruled out several rival accounts.
个体在追求需要持续投入的目标时，经常会面临逆境。个体在逆境面前是否坚持，极大地影响他们实现目标的可能性。我们认为，个体最初的选择集中会出现一个看似微小的变化——具体来说，增加一个无选择的选项——会增加沿着所选择的道路坚持下去的可能性。我们借鉴自我知觉理论，提出从一个包含无选择（不做任何事情）选项的集合中进行选择，会让个体意识到他们既更喜欢所选的道路，也认为这条道路是值得追求的，而如果没有无选择的选项，就无法做出这种推断。这种独特的信息增强了个体对所选道路的承诺，并提高了他们的坚持度。三项采用激励相容设计的研究支持了我们的预测，并排除了几个竞争解释。
