- Joined
- Sep 25, 2008
- Messages
- 354
- Reaction score
- 44
Apparently, announcing your important, identity-relevant goals to the public actually makes you less likely to follow them through. This is known as the Gollwitzer effect after the foremost researcher on implementation intentions. Some writers seem to understand this principle intuitively and shut up about what they are going to write next. Some writers believe that public accountability is helpful but the science doesn't seem to back this up. Here's a research article (pdf) and a short TED talk.
What do you guys think? The thread about this year's writing-related goals is obviously very popular but could it actually be doing more harm than good? The fitness forum on Reddit specifically discourages posting your goals for this reason and asks you to focus on your achievements instead.
What do you guys think? The thread about this year's writing-related goals is obviously very popular but could it actually be doing more harm than good? The fitness forum on Reddit specifically discourages posting your goals for this reason and asks you to focus on your achievements instead.