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Forcing your luck: Goal-striving behavior in chance situations.
Daniela Becker1, Joop van der Pligt1
1Department of Social Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Weesperplein 4, 1018 XA Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Motivation and Emotion
|March 8, 2016
Summary
People increase effort as they near a goal, even in games of chance where effort doesn't help. This goal-gradient effect in chance situations appears unintentional.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Behavioral Economics
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Goal pursuit involves motivational processes that increase effort as individuals approach desired end-states.
- This phenomenon, known as the goal-gradient, typically applies to situations where effort influences goal attainment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether the goal-gradient effect extends to chance-determined situations.
- To examine if increased effort investment occurs even when it does not impact the likelihood of achieving the desired end-state (e.g., winning).
Main Methods:
- Three studies were conducted, including laboratory experiments and a field study on a TV game show.
- Participants' effort investment in goal-directed behavior was measured in relation to their proximity to the end of the game/task.
Main Results:
- Consistent evidence for the goal-gradient was found in chance-determined situations.
- Participants invested more effort as they got closer to the end of the game, irrespective of effort's instrumental value.
- The influence of expectancy and value on this behavior was modest.
Conclusions:
- The goal-gradient effect is observable even in situations where increased effort does not influence outcomes.
- Changes in behavior appear unintentional and are perceived as non-instrumental by participants.
- Findings challenge the principle of resource conservation and relate to theories of goal pursuit and illusory control.
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