The One-Away Effect
The Pursuit of Mere Completion
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2237147 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Bowen Ruan (0000-0002-6933-7248, corresponding author), Evan Polman (0000-0001-6317-2107), Robin J Tanner |
| Editors | Lisa Leimar Price (0000-0002-1746-3066), Linda L Price, Bernd H Schmitt (0000-0002-5129-0912), Rebecca K Ratner (0000-0001-6897-3536) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 945-961 |
| Publication date | 2024-01-15 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Consumer Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0093-5301 • E-ISSN: 1537-5277 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/jcr/ucad030 |
| OpenAlex | W4367173143 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 54 |
A series of controlled studies found that consumers counter-normatively prefer something nearly complete over something complete. We call this phenomenon the 'one-away effect' because we find that when consumers are, for example, one stamp away from completing a punch card loyalty program, they value the card more than a completed card. This is because their valuation of the one-away card is influenced by their anticipation of merely completing the card, which generates its own utility, apart from the card's end-reward (a free coffee). To wit, the prospective utility of performing the final action that fulfills completion increases consumers' valuation of the one-away card. Our findings suggest that consumers are motivated to complete goals, tasks, and sets not only to obtain their end-rewards, but also because merely completing things is intrinsically motivating and can be a goal in and of itself. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the one-away effect, as well as the general notion of mere completion
Action (physics) · Advertising · Anticipation (artificial intelligence) · Ask price · Business · Economics · Epistemology · Loyalty · Phenomenon · Valuation (finance) · Value (mathematics) · Computer Science · Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics · Free Will and Agency · Marketing · Psychology · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment · Social Psychology
Behavior theory and conditioning.
The Ikea effect
Toward a theory of task motivation and incentives
Untersuchungen zur Lehre von der Gestalt. II
The Goal-Gradient Hypothesis Resurrected
Measuring utility by a single-response sequential method
Goals as Reference Points
Modern robust statistical methods
Experienced Utility as a Standard of Policy Evaluation
Prospect Theory
Time Discounting and Time Preference
The dynamics of self-regulation
The psychology of curiosity
Modeling collecting behavior
Experimental Tests of the Endowment Effect and the Coase Theorem
Anticipation and the Valuation of Delayed Consumption
Emotional transfer in goal systems
The effort heuristic
Individual differences in need for cognitive closure
It’s the journey, not the destination
Liking Is for Doing
Consider it done! Plan making can eliminate the cognitive effects of unfulfilled goals
On the psychology of drinking
For the Fun of It
Altering Speed of Locomotion
The Motivating-Uncertainty Effect
Turning the Page
The Small-Area Hypothesis
From Inherent Value to Incentive Value
When Uncertainty Brings Pleasure
The Effect of Mere Touch on Perceived Ownership
The Endowed Progress Effect
The Devaluation Effect
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |