Some Effects of Choice and Costs on Observers' Attributions

Summary

It was hypothesized that observers would be less inclined to expect a person to shift from one task to another when the initial task had been chosen than when it had been assigned, and when costs incurred while working on the initial task could not be recouped. Choice was also hypothesized to favor attribution of preference for the initial task and optimism concerning its completion, while unrecoupable costs were expected to encourage the attribution of preference but inhibit the attribution of optimism. It was also hypothesized that the effects of choice on attributed preference and optimism would be negated by the individual's failure to shift tasks at the earliest opportunity, but the effects of unrecoupable costs would not be. Ss were 188 male undergraduates who twice responded to paper-and-pencil instruments while watching video-taped experimental sessions. The manipulations created a 2 × 2 × 2 design. All hypotheses were supported. It was concluded that unrecoupable costs establish a strong and lasting presumption of commitment, whereas the effects of choice vs. assignment tend not to persist in the face of contradictory evidence.