PSYC 471 Chapter Notes -Mental Health, Weight Loss, Stimulus Control
9 Dec 2011
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Motivation article #5: if at first, you don"t succeed. Despite repeated failure at attempts to change aspects of their behaviour, people make frequent attempts at self-change. The generally negative outcome of many such self- change efforts makes it difficult to understand why so many individuals persist at these attempts. The authors have described this cycle of failure and renewed effort as a false. Hope syndrome characterized by unrealistic expectations about the likely speed, amount, ease and consequences of self-change attempts. Interestingly, people tend to make the same resolutions year after year, vowing on average 10 times to eradicate a particular vice. Obviously, every renewed vow represents a prior failure; otherwise, there would be no need for yet another attempt. Equally obviously, unsuccessful attempts do not diminish the likelihood of making future plans for self-change. Close to 25% of people who make new years resolutions give up their resolutions by the end of the first week.
