How Backup Plans Can Harm Goal Pursuit: The Unexpected Downside of Being Prepared for Failure

Shin, Jihae; Milkman, Katherine L.

doi:10.2139/ssrn.2538889

Cited by 5 publications

(17 citation statements)

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“…In demonstrating that resit exams promote lower investment of study time for a fictional exam, the current findings can be said to resonate well with two recent findings from studies on goal pursuit. Specifically, these studies suggest that people are less committed to a particular means to achieving a goal when more such means are available [ 22 , 23 ] and they suggest that participants are less likely to achieve a goal (e.g., achieving high performance on a sentence unscrambling task so as to receive a free snack) if they have first thought of a back-up plan for achieving that goal (i.e., think of another way in which you can obtain free food on campus; [ 24 ]; see also [ 25 ]). Interpreted in view of these findings, one could argue that in the current study, the prospect of a resit exam led participants to be less committed to passing the exam on their first attempt, as the resit exam offered them an alternative means in the form of a back-up plan.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, the resit effect described here pertains to how the prospect of a second chance influences a first choice. In this case, the first choice is not based on explicit calculation or intuition about the expected outcome of repeating that choice, but on the mere fact that there will be a second chance to do things differently in case the first decision turns out badly, a back-up plan so to speak ([ 24 ]; see also [ 25 ]). Thus, the current findings can be said to supplement the repeated-gambles effect in demonstrating another important exception to the well-established notion that people are generally risk averse in decisions involving gains.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Do Resit Exams Promote Lower Investments of Study Time? Theory and Data from a Laboratory Study

et al. 2016

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Although many educational institutions allow students to resit exams, a recently proposed mathematical model suggests that this could lead to a dramatic reduction in study-time investment, especially in rational students. In the current study, we present a modification of this model in which we included some well-justified assumptions about learning and performance on multiple-choice tests, and we tested its predictions in two experiments in which participants were asked to invest fictional study time for a fictional exam. Consistent with our model, the prospect of a resit exam was found to promote lower investments of study time for a first exam and this effect was stronger for participants scoring higher on the cognitive reflection test. We also found that the negative effect of resit exams on study-time investment was attenuated when access to the resit was made uncertain by making it probabilistic or dependent on obtaining a minimal, non-passing grade for the first attempt. Taken together, these results suggest that offering students resit exams may compromise the achievement of learning goals, and they raise the more general implication that second chances promote risky behavior.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Resit Exams Promote Lower Investments of Study Time? Theory and Data from a Laboratory Study

et al. 2016

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“…They perform worse with goals that have multiple means of achieving them, once they are past the initial stages of goal pursuit (Huang and Zhang 2013), and consumers with high-low goals (e.g., a goal to score between two and four points) are more likely to pursue their goal again but are not more likely to perform better than those with single goals (e.g., a goal to score two points or a goal to score four points) (Scott and Nowlis 2013). Furthermore, consumers with goals with backup plans for the superordinate goal perform worse on their primary goal than those without backup plans (Shin and Milkman 2016). Finally, goal specificity has different effects on consumers depending on the construal level.…”

Section: Reserve Versus Flexible Goalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Benefits of Emergency Reserves: Greater Preference and Persistence for Goals that Have Slack with a Cost

Sharif

Shu

2017

Journal of Marketing Research

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Marketers of programs that are designed to help consumers reach goals face dual challenges of making the program attractive enough to encourage consumer signup while still motivating consumers to reach desirable goals and thus stay satisfied with the program. The authors offer a possible solution to this challenge: the emergency reserve, or slack with a cost. They demonstrate how an explicitly defined emergency reserve not only is preferred over other options for goal-related programs but can also lead to increased persistence. Study 1 demonstrates that consumers prefer programs with emergency reserves to programs that do not have them, and Study 2 further clarifies that consumers' preference for an emergency reserve depends on the presence of a superordinate goal. Study 3 reveals that consumers prefer goals with emergency reserves because they perceive them to have both higher attainability and value than other goals. Study 4 demonstrates that reserves can lead to increased goal persistence in a realistic task that involves persistence over time. Finally, Studies 5 and 6 reveal that consumers persist more with reserve goals because they want to avoid using the “emergency” reserve.

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“…$80 or $90) because multiple alternatives anchored negotiators more strongly than a single one (Schaerer et al, 2016). Having fallback options can also negatively affect people's motivation and persistence in striving for their ideal targets (Shin and Milkman, 2016). To the extent that negotiators are willing to accept their fallback option, having a "just good enough" alternative can cause a negotiator to leave value on the table.…”

Section: The First Horseman Of Power: Alternatives (Batna)mentioning

confidence: 99%

The four horsemen of power at the bargaining table

Galinsky

Schaerer

Magee

2017

JBIM

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Purpose This paper aims to identify and discuss four major sources of power in negotiations. Findings The four sources of power are alternatives, information, status and social capital. Each of these sources of power can enhance a negotiator’s likelihood of obtaining their ideal outcome because power allows negotiators to be more confident and proactive, and it shields them from the bargaining tactics of their opponents. Practical implications The paper discusses how negotiators can utilize each source of power to improve their negotiation outcomes. Originality/value The paper provides a parsimonious definition of power in negotiations, identifies the four major sources of negotiator powers and highlights two pathways by which power affects negotiation outcomes.

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How Backup Plans Can Harm Goal Pursuit: The Unexpected Downside of Being Prepared for Failure

Cited by 5 publications

References 0 publications

Do Resit Exams Promote Lower Investments of Study Time? Theory and Data from a Laboratory Study

Do Resit Exams Promote Lower Investments of Study Time? Theory and Data from a Laboratory Study

The Benefits of Emergency Reserves: Greater Preference and Persistence for Goals that Have Slack with a Cost

The four horsemen of power at the bargaining table

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