Sunk Cost Research

Vanessa Jaber and Laura Flores

The Effects of Environmental Attitudes and Self-Construal on Sunk Cost Bias

SUNK COST ● Sunk Cost Bias

● Example: President Bush’s argument regarding soldiers in Iraq, “We owe them something... We will finish the task that they gave their lives for.”

● Theories/ Reasoning

● Prospect

● Waste avoidance

● Self-justification

● Self Construal: an individual’s self representation (Singelis, 1994)

● Interdependence● value the success of the group

● Independence● value the success of themselves

THE SELF

● Attitude impacted by culture (Schultz & Zelenzy, 1999)

● Attitude impacted by self-view (Gifford, 2013)

● Decision/Behavior may/may not be consistent (Kaiser, 2005)

ATTITUDE INFLUENCING DECISIONS

● Used environmentally themed vignettes ● Environmental Attitudes Inventory (EAI)

(Milfont & Duckitt, 2010)● Sunk Cost Bias and Environment

ENVIRONMENTAL ATTITUDES

• Asian collectivist cultures commit fewer sunk cost errors, likely due to self-justification.

(Chow, Harrison, Lindquest & Wu, 1997; Greer & Stephens, 2001; Kitayama, Markus, Matsumoto,Norasakkunkit, 1997; Yoder, Mancha, & Agrawal, 2014)

• Self construal predicts environmental thoughts, such that those with higher interdependence are more likely to protect the environment.

(Amocky, Stroink, & DeCicco, 2007)

• Hispanics more strongly opposed to mankind dominating the environment than non-Hispanics.

(Noe & Snow, 1990)

PREVIOUS RESEARCH

PREDICTIONS

•Hispanics will commit fewer sunk cost errors than non-hispanics.

•Those with an interdependent concept of the self will commit fewer sunk cost errors.

•Sunk cost bias is influenced by personal environmental attitudes in environmentally related investments.

Environmentally friendly optimal choicesEnvironmentally unfriendly optimal choices

METHOD

• 91 A&M undergraduates (56 hispanic, 35 non-hispanic; 22 males, 69 females)

• Qualtrics • Self Construal Measurement

Interdependence: “I will sacrifice my self-interest for the group I am in.”Independence: “I enjoy being unique and different from others in many respects.”

• Environmental attitudes measurement (EAI scale)“Human beings were created or evolved to dominate the rest of

nature.”

• Sunk Cost Vignettes (Carbon and Rainwater)

VIGNETTE EXAMPLES Carbon Footprint

Rainwater Conservation

• Sunk Cost Error: Dependent Variable• Vignettes: Within Subjects Variable

• EAI: Explanatory Variable• SC: Subject Variable• Ethnicity: Subject Variable• Chi square Tests

• Sunk Cost Error: Dichotomous Variable• EAI (2) & SC (4): Categorical Variables

• Log Linear Regression• Sunk Cost Error: Dichotomous Variable• EAI & SC: Continuous Variables

TO RECAP...

X2(1)=1.08, p=.205

RESULTS: ETHNICITY 2X2 CHI-SQUARE

Re

RESULTS: 2x2 CHI-SQUARE TESTS OF ASSOCIATION

X2(1)=15.89, p<.05 X2(1)=3.46, p=.06

Carbon Vignette Rainwater Vignette

RESULTS: LOG LINEAR REGRESSION

X2 (4)= 26.83 p<.001

• Hispanics and non-Hispanics did not differ on error • Environmental attitudes significantly associated with sunk cost

bias.• Environmental attitudes, self construal, and sunk cost bias

significantly associated with each other.• Individuals with lower EAI scores more prone to committing

sunk cost errors when optimal decision supported environmental sustainability.

• Individuals with lower levels of interdependence more prone to commit sunk cost errors.

FINDINGS

• Small College Sample

• Acculturation

• Environmental theme

• Relates to the theory of Planned Behavior(Azjen, 1986; 2002)

LIMITATIONS, IMPLICATIONS, FUTURE DIRECTIONS