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Iron
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The social reality effect is a psychological phenomenon in which telling other people about certain goals can give you a premature sense of having made progress toward them, potentially reducing your motivation to do the hard work required to achieve them.
Psychologist Peter Gollwitzer and colleagues investigated this phenomenon in several experiments. They found that when people's identity-related intentions were socially acknowledged, they often put less subsequent effort into pursuing those goals. The researchers proposed that social recognition can create a premature sense of possessing the desired identity.
In one experiment, law students were given 45 minutes to work on legal cases. Those whose intentions had been socially acknowledged worked for an average of about 41.5 minutes, while those whose intentions were not acknowledged worked for about 45.7 minutes.
The students whose intentions were not socially recognized did not receive that premature sense of accomplishment/identity completion, which may have left the goal feeling more incomplete and therefore maintained their motivation to continue working.
If you're looking to increase your chances of achieving your goals, it may therefore be beneficial to avoid seeking too much social recognition for your intentions and instead focus that satisfaction on actually taking action.
Psychologist Peter Gollwitzer and colleagues investigated this phenomenon in several experiments. They found that when people's identity-related intentions were socially acknowledged, they often put less subsequent effort into pursuing those goals. The researchers proposed that social recognition can create a premature sense of possessing the desired identity.
In one experiment, law students were given 45 minutes to work on legal cases. Those whose intentions had been socially acknowledged worked for an average of about 41.5 minutes, while those whose intentions were not acknowledged worked for about 45.7 minutes.
The students whose intentions were not socially recognized did not receive that premature sense of accomplishment/identity completion, which may have left the goal feeling more incomplete and therefore maintained their motivation to continue working.
If you're looking to increase your chances of achieving your goals, it may therefore be beneficial to avoid seeking too much social recognition for your intentions and instead focus that satisfaction on actually taking action.
