The Sunk Cost Effect in Humans: Procedural Comparisons

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda Devoto ◽  
Anthony DeFulio
Keyword(s):  
Sunk Cost ◽  
Sunk Cost Effect ◽  
Cost Effect

Exploring the causes of the sunk cost effect across cultures

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leigh Caldwell ◽  
Elina Halonen
Keyword(s):  
Sunk Cost ◽  
Sunk Cost Effect ◽  
Cost Effect

The role of the attractiveness of the stimuli in the sunk cost effect in children

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Sala ◽  
Gabriella Passerini ◽  
Laura Macchi ◽  
Maria Bagassi ◽  
Marco D'Addario
Keyword(s):  
Sunk Cost ◽  
Sunk Cost Effect ◽  
Cost Effect

The sunk cost effect in pigeons and people: A case of within-trials contrast?

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 ◽  
pp. 22-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Geoffrey White ◽  
Paula Magalhães
Keyword(s):  
Sunk Cost ◽  
Sunk Cost Effect ◽  
Cost Effect

EXPRESS: Effects of Payment on User Engagement in Online Courses

2021 ◽  
pp. 002224372110163
Author(s):  
Ali Goli ◽  
Pradeep K. Chintagunta ◽  
S. Sriram
Keyword(s):  
Online Courses ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Full Potential ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Sunk Cost ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Sunk Cost Effect ◽  
To Receive ◽  
Cost Effect

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have the potential to democratize education by improving access. Although retention and completion rates for non-paying users have not been promising, these statistics are much brighter for users who pay to receive a certificate upon completing the course. We investigate whether paying for the certificate option can increase engagement with course content. In particular, we consider two such effects: (a) the certificate effect, which is the boost in motivation to stay engaged in order to receive the certificate; and (b) the sunk-cost effect, which arises solely because the user paid for the course. We use data from over 70 courses offered on the Coursera platform and study the engagement of individual participants at different milestones within each course. The panel nature of the data enables us to include controls for intrinsic differences between non-paying and paying users in terms of their desire to stay engaged. We find evidence that the certificate and sunk-cost effects increase user engagement by approximately 8%-9%, and 17%-20%, respectively. However, whereas the sunk-cost effect is transient and lasts only for a few weeks after payment, the certificate effect lasts until the participant reaches the grade required to be eligible to receive the certificate. We discuss the implications of our findings for how platforms and content creators may want to design course milestones and schedule the payment of course fees. Given that greater engagement tends to improve learning outcomes, our study serves as an important first step in understanding the role of prices and payment in enabling MOOCs to realize their full potential.

scholarly journals Can Higher Prices Stimulate Product Use? Evidence from a Field Experiment in Zambia

2010 ◽  
Vol 100 (5) ◽  
pp. 2383-2413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nava Ashraf ◽  
James Berry ◽  
Jesse M Shapiro
Keyword(s):  
Field Experiment ◽  
Water Purification ◽  
Developing World ◽  
Sunk Cost ◽  
Screening Effect ◽  
Product Use ◽  
Sunk Cost Effect ◽  
Health Products ◽  
Cost Effect

The controversy over how much to charge for health products in the developing world rests, in part, on whether higher prices can increase use, either by targeting distribution to high-use households (a screening effect), or by stimulating use psychologically through a sunk-cost effect. We develop a methodology for separating these two effects. We implement the methodology in a field experiment in Zambia using door-to-door marketing of a home water purification solution. We find evidence of economically important screening effects. By contrast, we find no consistent evidence of sunk-cost effects. (JEL C93, D12, I11, M31, O12)

Role of Sunk Cost in Engineering Idea Generation: An Experimental Investigation

2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vimal K. Viswanathan ◽  
Julie S. Linsey
Keyword(s):  
Mental Models ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Sunk Costs ◽  
Process Models ◽  
Physical Models ◽  
Controlled Study ◽  
Time Cost ◽  
Sunk Cost ◽  
Sunk Cost Effect ◽  
Cost Effect

Researchers and design practitioners advocate building physical models of ideas at early stages of the design process. Still, the cognitive effects of physical models remain largely unknown. Some studies show that physical models possess the potential to facilitate the generation of high quality ideas. Conversely, other studies demonstrate that physical models can lead to design fixation. A prior controlled study by the authors failed to detect fixation due to early stage physical models. Based upon these conflicting results, this study hypothesizes that the fixation observed in prior studies can be explained by the Sunk Cost Effect. The Sunk Cost Effect pertains to an individual's reluctance to choose a different path of action once he/she invests a significant cost (money, time, or effort). According to this theory, as designers spend more time, money or effort in building physical models, they tend to generate ideas with lower novelty and variety. The prior observational studies use complicated design problems with higher costs compared to the controlled study, possibly explaining the difference in results. This study also hypothesizes that physical models supplement designers' erroneous mental models. The authors investigate these hypotheses through a controlled, between-subject experiment with five conditions: Sketching Only, Metal Building (low time cost), Plastic Building (high time cost), Metal Constrained Sketching, and Plastic Constrained Sketching. In each condition, subjects construct their ideas using materials specified by the name of the condition. The constrained sketching conditions assist in determining if participants tend to limit their ideas to only ones that can be built with given materials even though they are instructed to write down all ideas. The results confirm that the sunk cost of building plays a vital role in the observed fixation; thus, physical models do not inherently cause fixation. Moreover, results also show that physical models supplement designers' erroneous mental models, leading to higher quality ideas. To minimize sunk costs very early in the design process, models should be built with materials requiring minimal time, cost, and effort for the designers.

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