8 checked facts

Goals

Everything on this site about goals — each one naming the study behind it.

You spend more time on tasks that offer no reward.
A 2006 study by Kivetz, Urminsky, and Zheng found that people persist with a task longer if they believe they are maki…
You reach goals faster when you create an if-then plan.
Formulating 'if-then' statements increases the likelihood of goal attainment because it delegates control to the envir…
You actively block your own goals to focus.
Goal shielding is the process where the activation of a target goal inhibits the accessibility of competing goals.…
Your brain prioritizes unfinished tasks to force closure.
The Zeigarnik effect dictates that interrupted tasks are remembered significantly better than completed ones.…
You are driven either by hope or caution.
Regulatory focus theory identifies two different motivational systems: a promotion focus on achievement and a preventi…
Your motivation increases as you approach a finish line.
The study using loyalty card stamps to demonstrate the goal gradient effect was conducted by Nunes and Drèze in 2006.…
You value things more after working for them.
Effort justification leads you to increase your valuation of a goal simply because it was difficult to achieve.…
You work faster as the finish line appears.
A 2006 study by Kivetz, Urminsky, and Zheng provided empirical evidence supporting the goal gradient effect in consume…