scholarly journals O efeito Sunk Cost no Processo Decisório dos discentes de Instituições de Ensino Superior

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcos Igor Da Costa Santos ◽  
Rayane Farias Dos Santos ◽  
Antônio André Cunha Callado
Keyword(s):  
Sunk Costs ◽  
Sunk Cost

O objetivo deste estudo foi verificar a influência do efeito sunk cost nas decisões, gerenciais e pessoais, tomadas pelos discentes do Curso de Ciências Contábeis das Instituições de Ensino Superior. A pesquisa caracterizou-se como descritiva e de levantamento com abordagem quantitativa. Foram aplicados questionários a discentes de cinco Instituições de Ensino Superior que possuíam o curso Ciências Contábeis, na modalidade presencial. A coleta de dados, realizada nos meses de outubro e novembro de 2019, foi realizada fazendo uso de um questionário, adaptado do modelo de Domingos (2007), Rover et al. (2009) e Segantini et al. (2011) e, quanto aos dados levantados, utilizou-se a análise descritiva das respostas dos participantes e também se empregou o teste estatístico do qui-quadrado (χ2) para testar a significância entre as respostas obtidas. Os resultados encontrados evidenciaram que o valor do custo irrecuperável pode influenciar na ocorrência do efeito sunk costs. Isto pode ser constatado, pois à medida que diminuía o montante do custo perdido, menor era a disposição dos discentes em prosseguir investindo nos cursos de ação que deveriam ser abandonados. Quando a decisão é voltada para o contexto pessoal, os discentes levaram em consideração a premissa de aversão ao desperdício e senso de responsabilidade.

Did the 2011 Change to NFL Rookie Compensation Alter How Sunk Costs Affect Utilization?

2020 ◽  
pp. 152700252098343
Author(s):  
Quinn Andrew Wesley Keefer
Keyword(s):  
Collective Bargaining ◽  
Regression Discontinuity ◽  
Sunk Costs ◽  
Collective Bargaining Agreement ◽  
Sunk Cost ◽  
Wage Scale ◽  
The One

The 2011 NFL collective bargaining agreement introduced significant changes to rookie compensation, including a rookie wage scale. We test if the new rules changed how sunk costs affect utilization for drafted rookies. Our regression discontinuity results show a robust sunk-cost fallacy that is similar in magnitude to the one documented under the previous agreement. Second-round selections play significantly less than their first-round counterparts, as measured by percentage of games started, total snaps played, and percentage of snaps played. However, the effect is not evident beyond the rookie season. Additional results show coaching success and coaching changes are important factors.

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.

scholarly journals Capuchin and rhesus monkeys show sunk cost effects in a psychomotor task

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Watzek ◽  
Sarah Brosnan
Keyword(s):  
Rhesus Monkeys ◽  
Rhesus Macaques ◽  
Sunk Costs ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Moving Target ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Sunk Cost ◽  
Psychological Mechanisms ◽  
Human Decision ◽  
Cost Effect

Human decision-making is often swayed by irrecoverable investments even though it should only be based on future – and not past – costs and benefits. Although this sunk cost effect is widely documented and can lead to devastating losses, the underlying psychological mechanisms are unclear. To tease apart possible explanations through a comparative approach, we assessed capuchin and rhesus monkeys’ susceptibility to sunk costs in a psychomotor task. Monkeys needed to track a moving target with a joystick-controlled cursor for variable durations. They could stop at any time, ending the trial without reward. To minimize the work required for a reward, monkeys should have always persisted for at least 1 second, but should have abandoned the trial if that did not yield a reward. Capuchin monkeys and especially rhesus macaques persisted to trial completion even when it was suboptimal, and were more likely to complete the trial the longer they had already tracked the target. These effects were less pronounced, although still present, when the change in expected tracking duration was signalled visually. These results show that sunk cost effects can arise in the absence of human-unique factors and may emerge, in part, because persisting can resolve uncertainty.

scholarly journals Capuchin and rhesus monkeys show sunk cost effects in a psychomotor task

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Watzek ◽  
Sarah F. Brosnan
Keyword(s):  
Rhesus Monkeys ◽  
Rhesus Macaques ◽  
Sunk Costs ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Moving Target ◽  
Costs And Benefits ◽  
Sunk Cost ◽  
Psychological Mechanisms ◽  
Human Decision ◽  
Cost Effect

AbstractHuman decision-making is often swayed by irrecoverable investments even though it should only be based on future—and not past—costs and benefits. Although this sunk cost effect is widely documented and can lead to devastating losses, the underlying psychological mechanisms are unclear. To tease apart possible explanations through a comparative approach, we assessed capuchin and rhesus monkeys’ susceptibility to sunk costs in a psychomotor task. Monkeys needed to track a moving target with a joystick-controlled cursor for variable durations. They could stop at any time, ending the trial without reward. To minimize the work required for a reward, monkeys should have always persisted for at least 1 s, but should have abandoned the trial if that did not yield a reward. Capuchin monkeys and especially rhesus macaques persisted to trial completion even when it was suboptimal, and were more likely to complete the trial the longer they had already tracked the target. These effects were less pronounced, although still present, when the change in expected tracking duration was signalled visually. These results show that sunk cost effects can arise in the absence of human-unique factors and may emerge, in part, because persisting can resolve uncertainty.

scholarly journals The Role of Sunk Cost and Slack Resources in Innovation: A Conceptual Reading in an Entrepreneurial Perspective

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Salvatore Esposito De Falco ◽  
Antonio Renzi
Keyword(s):  
Friction Factor ◽  
Sunk Costs ◽  
Innovative Activity ◽  
Sunk Cost ◽  
Slack Resources ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Absorbed Slack

AbstractThis paper proposes a conceptual reading of the interplay between sunk costs and slack resources in innovation, adopting an entrepreneurial perspective. Antecedent literature mostly depicts the relationship between slack and innovation as an inverse u-shaped curve. However, this approach is way too unrealistic and it does not take in account both the different impact of heterogeneous types of slack and of sunk costs. We argue that not all slacks positively contribute to innovation and, hence, the u-shaped relationship is merely verified in case of highly flexible slack resources. In addition, the presence of sunk costs is a friction factor, which makes the first part of the curve less steep. Therefore, entrepreneurs are solicited to innovation by the presence of some easy recoverable slack types, as financial or knowledge ones. On the converse, a consistent level of sunk cost may discourage their innovative activity. In this setting, absorbed slack resources increase the level of sunk costs.

scholarly journals Mindfulness and decision-making: Sunk-costs or escalation of commitment?

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Schmitzer-Torbert
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Sunk Costs ◽  
Escalation Of Commitment ◽  
Trait Mindfulness ◽  
Sunk Cost ◽  
Positive Health ◽  
Course Of Action ◽  
Cognitive Benefits ◽  
Positive Health Outcomes ◽  
The Relationship

Mindfulness is related to a number of positive health outcomes, such as decreased stress, anxiety and improved physical functioning. Recent studies have also identified a range cognitive benefits of mindfulness, including recent studies demonstrating that higher trait mindfulness and brief mindfulness inductions are associated with improved decision-making, and specifically to resistance to the influence of sunk-costs, where higher mindfulness is associated with increased willingness to discontinue a costly, but disadvantageous, course of action. However, some previous studies examining mindfulness and the sunk-cost bias have methodological limitations which make it difficult to determine if mindfulness is specifically related to sensitivity to the sunk-cost bias, or rather than to a general willingness to continue an unprofitable course of action (independent of the level of prior investment). The present study extends previous work by replicating the finding that trait mindfulness is positively related to resistance to the effects of sunk-costs, and also demonstrates that mindfulness is related to reduced escalation of commitment, an individual’s willingness to continue their commitment to a unprofitable course of action through the further investment of resources or time. Overall, trait mindfulness was most consistently related to reduced escalation of commitment, whereas the relationship between trait mindfulness and resistance to the effects of sunk-costs were less consistently observed

Sunk costs and quasi-hyperbolic discounting: keeping profitable commitments by considering sunk costs

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Knox
Keyword(s):  
Educational Intervention ◽  
Numerical Experiments ◽  
Hyperbolic Discounting ◽  
Educational Interventions ◽  
Sunk Costs ◽  
Bad News ◽  
Good News ◽  
Cost Consideration ◽  
Sunk Cost ◽  
Content Type

Purpose Managerial accounting education generally insists that managers should never consider sunk costs. This suggestion seems inconsistent with a common mode of thinking about future rewards: quasi-hyperbolic discounting. This paper aims to explore the conflict between sunk cost consideration and quasi-hyperbolic discounting and to illustrate when sunk cost consideration may be appropriate. Design/methodology/approach The author conducted three numerical experiments, i.e. simulated experiments based on analytical models, to demonstrate how it can be beneficial to consider sunk costs in some circumstances. All three numerical experiments assume quasi-hyperbolic discounting. First, the author tested considering sunk costs with future rewards that are certain. Second, the author tested considering sunk costs with uncertain future rewards. Finally, the author tested two different educational interventions to change decision-makers’ thought patterns. Findings The author found that considering sunk costs worsens decisions when there is bad news and improves them when there is good news. The author found that an educational intervention that partially dissuades managers from considering sunk costs improves decisions when bad news arrives and worsens them when good news arrives. The author also found that an educational intervention that reduces uncertainty improves decisions when bad news arrives and does not worsen these decisions when good news arrives. Originality/value The author provided numerical examples of situations in which considering sunk costs is valuable. The findings on educational interventions provide information about the tradeoffs of teaching that sunk costs should never be considered.

Neutrality, Sunk Costs, and Commitment

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meghan Sullivan
Keyword(s):  
Sunk Costs ◽  
Full Information ◽  
Sunk Cost ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Alternative Solutions

This chapter applies the theory of temporal neutrality to past commitments. How do we distinguish irrational sunk cost reasoning from rationally permissible honoring of past plans? The chapter provides a parallel principle to Weak Forecasting called Weak Honoring that explains the difference. Roughly, given full information, it is permissible to choose any option you have not foresworn and will never regret over any option you have foresworn or will regret. The chapter considers alternative solutions to the sunk cost puzzle drawn from Nozick (rational irrationality), Bratman and Holton (commitment), Hurka and Kelly (structuralism), and Korsgaard (integrity). It raises objections for each of these alternative accounts.

scholarly journals Efeito sunk cost no processo de tomada de decisão: uma análise com discentes de ciências contábeis e administração

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-219
Author(s):  
Jéssica Priscila Rodrigues Meireles ◽  
Yuri Gomes Paiva Azevedo ◽  
Lucas Allan Diniz Schwarz ◽  
Hellen Bomfim Gomes
Keyword(s):  
Rio Grande ◽  
Sunk Costs ◽  
Sunk Cost

Objetivo: O objetivo deste estudo é analisar a influência do efeito sunk cost no processo de tomada de decisão dos estudantes de graduação em Administração e Ciências Contábeis da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte. Metodologia: A amostra do estudo compreende 655 estudantes, sendo 347 do curso de Ciências Contábeis e 308 do curso de Administração. O levantamento de dados foi realizado por meio da aplicação de questionários estruturados elaborados com base nos estudos de Arkes e Blumer (1985), Rover, Wuerges, Tomazzia e Borba (2009) e Silva e Domingos (2010). Após tabulados, os dados foram analisados por meio da estatística descritiva, bem como foi realizado o teste U de Mann-Whitney para verificar se existem diferenças entre as respostas dos acadêmicos de Ciências Contábeis e Administração. Resultados: Os principais resultados sugerem que o montante de custo perdido pode influenciar na ocorrência do efeito sunk cost, sendo esta evidência percebida por meio dos valores das médias, tendo em vista que a redução do montante do custo perdido é inversamente proporcional à disposição média dos respondentes em continuar investindo no curso de ação. Além de identificar que os sunk costs são levados em consideração no processo de tomada de decisão por parte dos discentes investigados, verifica-se que não há diferença estatisticamente significante entre as medianas dos respondentes no que tange às questões que permitem identificar a suscetibilidade ao efeito custo irrecuperável no contexto de decisão empresarial. Contribuições do Estudo: O estudo contribui ao sinalizar que os futuros profissionais de Administração e Contabilidade são suscetíveis ao efeito sunk cost, o que pode implicar em um report de informações contábeis viesadas por parte dos futuros contadores, bem como tomadas de decisões viesadas por futuros administradores. Adicionalmente, contrapõe evidências anteriores que sugerem que os agentes de diferentes áreas de conhecimento reagem de forma diferente à presença de custos irrecuperáveis.

scholarly journals Apparent sunk cost effect in rational agents

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torben Ott ◽  
Paul Masset ◽  
Thiago Santos Gouvea ◽  
Adam Kepecs
Keyword(s):  
Generative Models ◽  
Behavioral Pattern ◽  
Sunk Costs ◽  
Rational Decision ◽  
Decision Strategy ◽  
Sunk Cost ◽  
Attrition Bias ◽  
Cognitive Behaviors ◽  
Economic Decisions ◽  
Cost Effect

Rational decision makers aim to maximize their gains, but humans and other animals often fail to do so, exhibiting biases and distortions in their choice behavior. In a recent study of economic decisions, humans, mice, and rats have been reported to succumb to the sunk cost fallacy, making decisions based on irrecoverable past investments in detriment of expected future returns. We challenge this interpretation because it is subject to a statistical fallacy, a form of attrition bias, and the observed behavior can be explained without invoking a sunk cost-dependent mechanism. Using a computational model, we illustrate how a rational decision maker with a reward-maximizing decision strategy reproduces the reported behavioral pattern and propose an improved task design to dissociate sunk costs from fluctuations in decision valuation. Similar statistical confounds may be common in analyses of cognitive behaviors, highlighting the need to use causal statistical inference and generative models for interpretation.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document