The Escalation of Commitment to a Course of Action: A Critical Test of Some Determinants

Abstract

Abstract The most commonly accepted explanation for the tendency to escalate commitment to a losing course of action, the self‐justification approach, is discussed and contrasted with an explanation founded on prospect theory. A critical test of the two theories is then conducted. The results provide support for an explanation rooted in prospect theory, and indicate that the tendency to escalate commitment to a losing course of action may become manifest even in the absence of self‐justification motives. Résumé L'explication la plus courante de la tendance à s'engager plus profondément dans des activités générant des pertes, privilégie I'approche de I'auto‐justification; celle‐ci est commentée et comparée à l'explication fondée sur la ≪prospect theory≫. Les résultats obtenus supportent l'explication fourniepar le ≪prospect theory≫ et suggèrent qu'une tendance à s'engager dans des activités générant des pertes peut se manifester měme en I'absence de motivations d'auto‐justification.

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