The “Sprinter effect”: When self-control and involvement stand in the way of sequential performance

Journal of Consumer Psychology · 2011 · Volume 21 · Issue 3

DOI: 10.1016/j.jcps.2010.11.003

Abstract

This research examines the joint effect of dispositional self-control and situational involvement on performance in two successive resource-demanding tasks. We demonstrate that being highly involved and having high self-control facilitates high performance in the first task but, contrary to intuition, may jeopardize performance in a second, unexpected task. We term this the “sprinter effect” and demonstrate it in both lab and field settings. We further explore how a “marathon” mindset can debias this effect.

Keywords

Resource depletion, Involvement, Self-control, Mindset, Impulsive buying

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