The “Break-In” Effect: a Token Gesture Can Increase Task Initiation and Prevent Goal Abandonment

Many goal pursuits fail at the stage of task initiation. We find that token “break-in” gestures that are goal-irrelevant, yet break the psychological barrier between pre-pursuit and in-pursuit phases, can increase the likelihood of task initiation and prevent goal abandonment by reducing the perceived dauntingness of the initial task.



Citation:

Adelle Xue Yang, Babu Gounder, and Rajesh Bagchi (2018) ,"The “Break-In” Effect: a Token Gesture Can Increase Task Initiation and Prevent Goal Abandonment", in NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 46, eds. Andrew Gershoff, Robert Kozinets, and Tiffany White, Duluth, MN : Association for Consumer Research, Pages: 160-164.

Authors

Adelle Xue Yang, National University of Singapore, Singapore
Babu Gounder, University of Miami, USA
Rajesh Bagchi, Virginia Tech, USA



Volume

NA - Advances in Consumer Research Volume 46 | 2018



Share Proceeding

Featured papers

See More

Featured

N9. Effects of Awe on Consumers’ Preferences for Bounded Brand Logos

Fei Cao, Renmin University of China
Xia Wang, Renmin University of China

Read More

Featured

Boomerang Effect: How Sustainable Disposal Options Spur Green Consumers to Overconsume

Sommer Kapitan, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
Saerom Lee, University of Texas at San Antonio, USA
Eunjoo Han, Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand

Read More

Featured

Exploring the Intersection of Digital Virtual Consumption and Family Rituals

Linda Tuncay Zayer, Loyola University Chicago, USA
Jenna Drenten, Loyola University Chicago, USA

Read More

Engage with Us

Becoming an Association for Consumer Research member is simple. Membership in ACR is relatively inexpensive, but brings significant benefits to its members.