Does anyone remember The Secret? It’s wild to me that 30 million people bought a book that boils down to “think hard about stuff you want.” And this was pre-recession!
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Replying to @zck
Funny, I was just thinking about that this morning! I was wondering whether it had a net positive effect on people's lives. Seems like a pretty harmless fiction, if it helped people be more vigilant about noticing opportunities.
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Replying to @davidklaing
I go back and forth — if it encouraged people to act I’d agree it was a net positive. But studies show telling others about a plan actually reduces your chances of following through, and my guess is that this has a similar effect
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Replying to @zck
No kidding! Which studies? I thought the whole point of Beeminder and those things was that by telling people about your plans, you become more likely to follow through because of a desire to appear self-consistent.
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Replying to @davidklaing
Can’t remember specifically the one I read, but this article mentions a study with a similar point:https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/ulterior-motives/200905/if-you-want-succeed-don-t-tell-anyone …
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Replying to @zck @davidklaing
We will bet so much money that that Gollwitzer et al study doesn't replicate! (Of course Beeminder can be used either publicly or privately so we're not *too* invested here.)
@sivers, who popularized that study the most, partially retracted the claim here:https://sivers.org/zipit21 reply 0 retweets 2 likes -
You must have a treasure trove of data that could help answer the question! Have you done any analyses to see whether people are more likely to follow through on their public goals than on their private ones?
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See links at https://sivers.org/zipit Gollwitzer is the expert, not me. Notice it's only for identity goals, and then only a 30% influence.
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