http://pss.sagepub.com/content/25/3/772.short
- 1Wharton Business School, University of Pennsylvania
- 2J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University
- Rom Y. Schrift, The Wharton School, 700 Jon M. Huntsman Hall, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104 E-mail: roms@wharton.upenn.edu
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Author Contributions R. Y. Schrift and J. R. Parker jointly developed the studies’ concepts and contributed equally to the design. Both authors performed the testing and data collection, and both approved the final version of the manuscript for submission.
Abstract
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.
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