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Effect of Temporal Perspective on Subjective Confidence
| Citations: | 61 - 3 self |
BibTeX
@MISC{Gilovich_effectof,
author = {Thomas Gilovich and Margaret Kerr and Victoria Husted Medvec},
title = {Effect of Temporal Perspective on Subjective Confidence},
year = {}
}
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Abstract
Four studies examined whether people tend to lose confidence in their prospects for success the closer they are to the "moment of truth. " Study 1 found that students think they will do better on their midterm exams when asked on the 1st day of class than when asked on the day of the exam. Studies 2 and 4 replicated this finding under controlled conditions. Study 3 demonstrated that the same effect holds retrospectively: People are more confident that they would have performed well at a task long after the time to perform has passed. Data are presented indicating that these results stem from a tendency for people to feel more "accountable " for their assessments, and thus focus less on the causes of success and more on the causes of failure, as the time to perform approaches. Implications for the experience of regret are discussed. As those who spend time in academic environments know too well, many students routinely excel on exams and yet, just before taking a test, are convinced they will do poorly. Similarly, the sports world is full of boastful fans who generally view their teams as infallible and yet, as play begins, are filled with worries about how their heroes might lose. Furthermore, there
