The Effects of Individual Differences and Anonymity on Commitment to Decisions: Preliminary Evidence

This study examined the effects of inner-motivation, other-motivation, and anonymity on escalation to commitment, by using an extended version of Staw's financial allocation task (B. M. Staw, 1976). Participants' inner-motivation and other-motivation were measured with scales created for this study. Participants were told there would be a group discussion and that they would have to make decisions. Their escalations to commitment might have occurred in anticipation of having to justify their decisions to others. Other-motivation was correlated positively with initial commitment. Final commitment was negatively correlated with participants' inner-motivation. It is possible that once the neutral views of the others became known, the participants adjusted their commitments to reflect their inner-motivation. Anonymity did not affect commitment.