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Promotion and prevention choices between stability and change
N Liberman1, L C Idson, C J Camacho
1Department of Psychology, Columbia University, New York, New York 10027, USA. liberman@psych.columbia.edu
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|January 8, 2000
Summary
Regulatory focus influences choices between stability and change. A prevention focus promotes stability, favoring task resumption and object retention, while a promotion focus encourages change.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
- Decision-Making
Background:
- Regulatory Focus Theory posits distinct motivational orientations: promotion (goals, aspirations) and prevention (duties, obligations).
- These orientations are theorized to influence preferences for change versus stability in decision-making contexts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how promotion and prevention regulatory foci affect choices between stability and change.
- To examine these effects in the contexts of task substitution and endowment decisions.
Main Methods:
- Five studies were conducted, employing both situational inductions and chronic personality assessments of regulatory focus.
- Participants made choices between resuming interrupted tasks versus engaging in substitute activities (Studies 1-2).
- Participants also made decisions regarding the exchange of possessed objects (endowment effect) (Studies 3-5).
Main Results:
- Individuals with a prevention focus showed a stronger preference for resuming interrupted tasks over substitute activities.
- Conversely, those with a promotion focus did not exhibit this preference for stability.
- A prevention focus led to a reluctance to exchange possessed objects, demonstrating the endowment effect, whereas a promotion focus did not.
Conclusions:
- Regulatory focus significantly impacts choices related to stability and change.
- Prevention focus consistently aligns with a preference for stability, evident in task and endowment decisions.
- Promotion focus does not consistently drive a preference for change in these specific contexts.