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Goal attainment as a resource: The cushion effect in risky choice above a goal

Publication ,  Journal Article
Jeffrey, SA; Onay, S; Larrick, RP
Published in: Journal of Behavioral Decision Making
January 1, 2010

Goals are a ubiquitous part of life and have been shown to change behavior in many domains. This research studied the influence of goal attainment on risky choice behavior. Previous research has shown that goals tend to increase risk-seeking behavior when potential outcomes fall below a goal. We examined a new problem: Choice behavior when all potential outcomes in a choice set achieve or exceed the goal. Two studies show a "cushion effect" of goal attainment on choice under risk. When all possible outcomes of all options are above a salient and specific goal, decision makers are more likely to choose a risky option over a certain outcome with equal expected value (EV). We hypothesized that the attainment of a goal serves as a cushion that softens the negative emotions associated with receiving a gamble's low outcome. This allows risk taking that would otherwise be unattractive. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Journal of Behavioral Decision Making

DOI

EISSN

1099-0771

ISSN

0894-3257

Publication Date

January 1, 2010

Volume

23

Issue

2

Start / End Page

191 / 202

Related Subject Headings

  • Social Psychology
  • 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology
  • 3507 Strategy, management and organisational behaviour
  • 3506 Marketing
 

Citation

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Jeffrey, S. A., Onay, S., & Larrick, R. P. (2010). Goal attainment as a resource: The cushion effect in risky choice above a goal. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 23(2), 191–202. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdm.645
Jeffrey, S. A., S. Onay, and R. P. Larrick. “Goal attainment as a resource: The cushion effect in risky choice above a goal.” Journal of Behavioral Decision Making 23, no. 2 (January 1, 2010): 191–202. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdm.645.
Jeffrey SA, Onay S, Larrick RP. Goal attainment as a resource: The cushion effect in risky choice above a goal. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making. 2010 Jan 1;23(2):191–202.
Jeffrey, S. A., et al. “Goal attainment as a resource: The cushion effect in risky choice above a goal.” Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, vol. 23, no. 2, Jan. 2010, pp. 191–202. Scopus, doi:10.1002/bdm.645.
Jeffrey SA, Onay S, Larrick RP. Goal attainment as a resource: The cushion effect in risky choice above a goal. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making. 2010 Jan 1;23(2):191–202.
Journal cover image

Published In

Journal of Behavioral Decision Making

DOI

EISSN

1099-0771

ISSN

0894-3257

Publication Date

January 1, 2010

Volume

23

Issue

2

Start / End Page

191 / 202

Related Subject Headings

  • Social Psychology
  • 5204 Cognitive and computational psychology
  • 3507 Strategy, management and organisational behaviour
  • 3506 Marketing