The Mere Deadline Effect

Why More Time Might Sabotage Goal Pursuit

Bibliographic Data

ID2237569
AuthorsMeng Zhu (0009-0003-3824-4844, Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, 100 International Drive, Baltimore, corresponding author), Rajesh Bagchi (Virginia Tech), Stefan J Hock (0000-0003-3530-7005, School of Business, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax)
EditorsEileen Fischer (0000-0002-8212-0414), Kristin Diehl (0000-0002-5408-652X)
Year2019
Volume45
Issue5
Pages1068-1084
Publication date2019-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Consumer Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0093-5301 • E-ISSN: 1537-5277
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/jcr/ucy030
OpenAlexW2795669759
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited46

Contrary to the common belief that having more time facilitates goal pursuit by allowing for more flexibility and fewer restrictions, the current work argues that long deadlines may produce unintended detrimental consequences on goal pursuit. In particular, this research identifies a mere deadline effect, showing that longer versus shorter deadlines, once imposed, lead consumers to infer that the focal goal is more difficult, even when the deadline length results from incidental factors that cannot be meaningfully used to make any other diagnostic inferences about the task itself besides completion frame. Further, these difficulty inferences consequently lead consumers to commit more resources (e.g., time and money). Thus, while long incidental deadlines might be beneficial for essential yet often underestimated aspects of long-term well-being (e.g., when consumers exert more effort to save for college and plan for retirement), the unintended difficulty perception arising from deadline length will sometimes sabotage goal pursuit (e.g., when consumers commit more resources that are beyond their capability, and when elevated resource estimates lead to increased procrastination and higher likelihood of quitting).

Commit · Economics · Flexibility (engineering) · Futures studies · Goal pursuit · Perception · Political science · Procrastination · Resource (disambiguation) · Task (project management) · Unintended consequences · Behavioral Health and Interventions · Computer Science · Mind wandering and attention · Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction · Psychology · Social Psychology

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