Why we believe we can keep promises made to ourselves
Reflecting on our actions in the future, we tend to neglect the limitations that the future brings with it.
Postcard of 1909:
Cargo of conscience lay
All my promises.
It’s not harder to break them
How to burst bubbles
')
And so every time. Year after year, every time with great confidence we choose goals that we will strive to achieve next year. Next year we will eat more correctly, go to the gym more, we will not check mail before bedtime. Why do we have high expectations from ourselves?
To understand why the next year looks so promising, it is helpful to consider why the promises of last year remained unfulfilled. Of course, at any moment we will begin our day with a nutritious and delicious smoothie for breakfast. But who has time to clean the mango or wash the blender? Yes, it would be great to get to the gym on the way home from work. But who wants to carry a gym bag to work? Yes, there is nothing better than evening relaxation! But is everything ready for tomorrow's presentation? The problem of the goals set for this year is that they are always limited by an annoying momentary reality.
And fortunately, or, unfortunately, this momentary reality rarely occurs to us when we are planning the future. In our new study, which will soon appear in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, it is shown that the prospect of turning the calendar page already helps planners forget about the obstacles that limit their aspirations. Goals look more attractive on the other side of the calendar.
In one of our studies conducted on July 31, we asked a group of people who are going to go on a diet to imagine that from tomorrow they will start eating more wholesome food. They recorded the thoughts that came to their heads, and we divided their answers into categories. We looked to see if their thoughts were connected with the achievement of the desired result, or with limitations that impede the achievement of goals. Thoughts like “I will have more strength” and “I want to lose weight” fell into the category of results. Thoughts like “mango hard to clean” and “I hate washing blender” fell into the category of obstacles.
With half of the subjects, we operated on the concept of days of the week, not months, implying that “tomorrow” will be this week. In this case, thoughts about the results were less than thoughts about obstacles. For every two thoughts on results, there were almost three thoughts on limitations. With the other half of the subjects, “tomorrow” was designated as “the first of August,” which meant the onset of a new month. In this case, the subjects invented far fewer obstacles. For every two thoughts about the results, there were only 1.2 thoughts about obstacles. As if the thoughts about the next day as a part of a separate time period helped the doubts of dieters to disappear. They did not deny any doubts, they simply did not occur to them in the first place. Why so?
Psychologists have long been aware of the work of Nira Liberman from Tel-Aviv University and Jacob Troop [Yaacov Trope] from New York University, that goals look different, depending on whether they are set in the near or far future . Three months ago, when reserving your vacation, in your head, most likely, you were scrolling through abstract thoughts like “family time”, “relaxation” or “adventure”. On the eve of your departure, you most likely had more mundane problems: “How does all this fit into the suitcase?” And “will I find a taxi at 4:45 am?” People think of more distant goals in a more abstract way. Only at their approach they begin to think more specifically about them. Our study showed that if the goal is located on another page of the calendar, it seems that it is in the more distant future.
To determine whether this affects people's plans, we conducted another experiment, on Tuesday, at the end of February. We asked people who are going to go on a diet to talk about their expectations about the upcoming diet every day, from Wednesday 27 February to Tuesday 4 March. Some subjects were given a calendar with dates, and others - with the days of the week. Participants who worked with dates did not expect much on February 27 and 28, but from March 1 and the following days their expectations were high. On the contrary, the participants who worked with the days of the week did not expect much from the first four days, from Thursday to Sunday, but for Monday and subsequent days their expectations increased. What will be considered the beginning of a new period and a new opportunity depends on the perspective.
Which of these changing perspectives can be concluded? Is it good that there is always a new opportunity to start all over again? Or is it bad that there is always a new opportunity to postpone changes? There is no simple answer. It all depends on the conditions in which future planners look to the future. We recorded one of the possible dangers of changing perspectives in the final study, which examined how people use subscriptions to a fitness club.
The study was conducted in Switzerland, where Dr. Henneke [Dr. Hennecke]. As a reward for participating in the survey, participants raffled off one of the ten subscriptions of the popular Swiss health promotion program eBalance. This is something like Weight Watchers in the USA [products and services for weight loss - approx. trans.]. This is a paid service, trying to help people lose weight, providing calorie counting, working with a mentor, diet tips and other forms of support. Subscriptions cost $ 78.
After a survey conducted in mid-August, we asked participants to choose a start date for classes in case they win a subscription. Regardless of their choice, the subscription ended on November 30th. Half of the participants were asked to choose the beginning of the course in one or two weeks. In this case, 60% of people chose the earliest start. The other half was offered the same schedule, but they gave out two specific dates: August 25 or September 1. In this case, only 40% of the participants decided to start on the first possible day. The prospect of starting classes from the new month attracted them so much that people gave up an extra week of valuable program.
For now, we can only say that losing the week was “potentially” dangerous. We do not know how the participants behaved over long periods. It is possible that those who waited for the 1st, it was easier to start. In the future, this may be more profitable, unless they are stopped by restrictions that they have not foreseen in advance.
The question to which the search for an answer continues is how to use this phenomenon to encourage the beginning of changes and maintain their constancy. It can be very difficult to overcome the inertia of inaction or bad habits, but positive expectations from “next week”, “next month” or “next year” can help people not to stop. Indeed, the researchers found that people are taking at least the first step towards a new life. In Google's search for health-related information, the peak comes on Mondays , and the peak visits to the gyms are at the beginning of the month, week, year, and other pronounced time periods. We missed the bus this week - no matter, the next one will come soon.
The problem is to help people not to give up their activities after the first steps. By definition, health-related searches and gymnasium visits experience maximums at the beginning of time periods, after which they become smaller. In these moments, the results may reflect bad news. Expectations from the onset of new periods of time are high, because people do not think about possible restrictions. In the future, this can lead to problems, since people are unlikely to succeed in achieving long-term goals if they cannot adequately plan for overcoming the obstacles they face.
Imagining goals for 2017, do not forget that the “next year” eventually turns into a “current” one, and it will bring with it all the same restrictions. Take advantage of the fact that next year seems to be more favorable time for undertakings, but make firm decisions that take into account your limitations. Do not decide to just eat better, sign up for cooking classes. Do not promise to just go to the gym more often, sign up for a training course that is compatible with your schedule. Do not promise to refuse to read mail in bed, make sure that your wi-fi is disconnected at a certain time.
If you do not succeed, do not postpone everything to 2018. Aim for the next Monday.
• Trope, Yaacov, and Nira Liberman. “Construal-level theory of psychological distance.” Psychological review 117.2 (2010): 440.
• Ayers, John W., et al. “What's the healthiest day ?: Circaseptan (weekly) rhythms in healthy considerations.” American journal of preventive medicine 47.1 (2014): 73-76.
• Dai, Hengchen, Katherine L. Milkman, and Jason Riis. "The fresh start effect: Temporal landmarks motivate aspirational behavior." Management Science 60.10 (2014): 2563-2582.
• Gollwitzer, Peter M., et al. “Planning promotes goal striking.” Handbook of self-regulation: Research, theory, and applications 2 (2011): 162-185.
Postcard of 1909:
Cargo of conscience lay
All my promises.
It’s not harder to break them
How to burst bubbles
')
And so every time. Year after year, every time with great confidence we choose goals that we will strive to achieve next year. Next year we will eat more correctly, go to the gym more, we will not check mail before bedtime. Why do we have high expectations from ourselves?
To understand why the next year looks so promising, it is helpful to consider why the promises of last year remained unfulfilled. Of course, at any moment we will begin our day with a nutritious and delicious smoothie for breakfast. But who has time to clean the mango or wash the blender? Yes, it would be great to get to the gym on the way home from work. But who wants to carry a gym bag to work? Yes, there is nothing better than evening relaxation! But is everything ready for tomorrow's presentation? The problem of the goals set for this year is that they are always limited by an annoying momentary reality.
And fortunately, or, unfortunately, this momentary reality rarely occurs to us when we are planning the future. In our new study, which will soon appear in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, it is shown that the prospect of turning the calendar page already helps planners forget about the obstacles that limit their aspirations. Goals look more attractive on the other side of the calendar.
In one of our studies conducted on July 31, we asked a group of people who are going to go on a diet to imagine that from tomorrow they will start eating more wholesome food. They recorded the thoughts that came to their heads, and we divided their answers into categories. We looked to see if their thoughts were connected with the achievement of the desired result, or with limitations that impede the achievement of goals. Thoughts like “I will have more strength” and “I want to lose weight” fell into the category of results. Thoughts like “mango hard to clean” and “I hate washing blender” fell into the category of obstacles.
With half of the subjects, we operated on the concept of days of the week, not months, implying that “tomorrow” will be this week. In this case, thoughts about the results were less than thoughts about obstacles. For every two thoughts on results, there were almost three thoughts on limitations. With the other half of the subjects, “tomorrow” was designated as “the first of August,” which meant the onset of a new month. In this case, the subjects invented far fewer obstacles. For every two thoughts about the results, there were only 1.2 thoughts about obstacles. As if the thoughts about the next day as a part of a separate time period helped the doubts of dieters to disappear. They did not deny any doubts, they simply did not occur to them in the first place. Why so?
Psychologists have long been aware of the work of Nira Liberman from Tel-Aviv University and Jacob Troop [Yaacov Trope] from New York University, that goals look different, depending on whether they are set in the near or far future . Three months ago, when reserving your vacation, in your head, most likely, you were scrolling through abstract thoughts like “family time”, “relaxation” or “adventure”. On the eve of your departure, you most likely had more mundane problems: “How does all this fit into the suitcase?” And “will I find a taxi at 4:45 am?” People think of more distant goals in a more abstract way. Only at their approach they begin to think more specifically about them. Our study showed that if the goal is located on another page of the calendar, it seems that it is in the more distant future.
To determine whether this affects people's plans, we conducted another experiment, on Tuesday, at the end of February. We asked people who are going to go on a diet to talk about their expectations about the upcoming diet every day, from Wednesday 27 February to Tuesday 4 March. Some subjects were given a calendar with dates, and others - with the days of the week. Participants who worked with dates did not expect much on February 27 and 28, but from March 1 and the following days their expectations were high. On the contrary, the participants who worked with the days of the week did not expect much from the first four days, from Thursday to Sunday, but for Monday and subsequent days their expectations increased. What will be considered the beginning of a new period and a new opportunity depends on the perspective.
Which of these changing perspectives can be concluded? Is it good that there is always a new opportunity to start all over again? Or is it bad that there is always a new opportunity to postpone changes? There is no simple answer. It all depends on the conditions in which future planners look to the future. We recorded one of the possible dangers of changing perspectives in the final study, which examined how people use subscriptions to a fitness club.
The study was conducted in Switzerland, where Dr. Henneke [Dr. Hennecke]. As a reward for participating in the survey, participants raffled off one of the ten subscriptions of the popular Swiss health promotion program eBalance. This is something like Weight Watchers in the USA [products and services for weight loss - approx. trans.]. This is a paid service, trying to help people lose weight, providing calorie counting, working with a mentor, diet tips and other forms of support. Subscriptions cost $ 78.
After a survey conducted in mid-August, we asked participants to choose a start date for classes in case they win a subscription. Regardless of their choice, the subscription ended on November 30th. Half of the participants were asked to choose the beginning of the course in one or two weeks. In this case, 60% of people chose the earliest start. The other half was offered the same schedule, but they gave out two specific dates: August 25 or September 1. In this case, only 40% of the participants decided to start on the first possible day. The prospect of starting classes from the new month attracted them so much that people gave up an extra week of valuable program.
For now, we can only say that losing the week was “potentially” dangerous. We do not know how the participants behaved over long periods. It is possible that those who waited for the 1st, it was easier to start. In the future, this may be more profitable, unless they are stopped by restrictions that they have not foreseen in advance.
The question to which the search for an answer continues is how to use this phenomenon to encourage the beginning of changes and maintain their constancy. It can be very difficult to overcome the inertia of inaction or bad habits, but positive expectations from “next week”, “next month” or “next year” can help people not to stop. Indeed, the researchers found that people are taking at least the first step towards a new life. In Google's search for health-related information, the peak comes on Mondays , and the peak visits to the gyms are at the beginning of the month, week, year, and other pronounced time periods. We missed the bus this week - no matter, the next one will come soon.
The problem is to help people not to give up their activities after the first steps. By definition, health-related searches and gymnasium visits experience maximums at the beginning of time periods, after which they become smaller. In these moments, the results may reflect bad news. Expectations from the onset of new periods of time are high, because people do not think about possible restrictions. In the future, this can lead to problems, since people are unlikely to succeed in achieving long-term goals if they cannot adequately plan for overcoming the obstacles they face.
Imagining goals for 2017, do not forget that the “next year” eventually turns into a “current” one, and it will bring with it all the same restrictions. Take advantage of the fact that next year seems to be more favorable time for undertakings, but make firm decisions that take into account your limitations. Do not decide to just eat better, sign up for cooking classes. Do not promise to just go to the gym more often, sign up for a training course that is compatible with your schedule. Do not promise to refuse to read mail in bed, make sure that your wi-fi is disconnected at a certain time.
If you do not succeed, do not postpone everything to 2018. Aim for the next Monday.
Links
• Trope, Yaacov, and Nira Liberman. “Construal-level theory of psychological distance.” Psychological review 117.2 (2010): 440.
• Ayers, John W., et al. “What's the healthiest day ?: Circaseptan (weekly) rhythms in healthy considerations.” American journal of preventive medicine 47.1 (2014): 73-76.
• Dai, Hengchen, Katherine L. Milkman, and Jason Riis. "The fresh start effect: Temporal landmarks motivate aspirational behavior." Management Science 60.10 (2014): 2563-2582.
• Gollwitzer, Peter M., et al. “Planning promotes goal striking.” Handbook of self-regulation: Research, theory, and applications 2 (2011): 162-185.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/400577/
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