Currently, there are 2 conflicting frameworks with which to understand why decision makers might escalate their commitment to a previously chosen course of action: sunk costs and project completion. The author proposes that sunk costs and need to complete exert simultaneous pressures, both independent and interactive, on a decision maker's level of commitment. The responses of 340 participants were analyzed and supported a complementary relationship between the 2 predictors. In addition, sunk costs demonstrated a curvilinear influence on commitment and an interaction with level of completion that supported a Level of Completion x Sunk Cost moderation model. (A marginal utility model was not supported.) Results are discussed in terms of their relevance toward offering a complementary view of 2 potential antecedents to a decision maker's propensity to escalate his or her commitment to a previously chosen course of action.

Will and needs.

Looking forward and looking back: integrating completion and sunk-cost effects within an escalation-of-commitment progress decision.

This article examines concepts and propositions from a theoretical perspective, and establishes the need for and develops an extension to Concept Maps (CMaps), called Cyclic Concept Maps (Cyclic CMaps). Cyclic CMaps are considered to be an appropriate tool for representing knowledge of functional or dynamical relationships between concepts. CMaps, on the other hand, are viewed as an appropriate tool for representing hierarchic or static knowledge. The two maps complement each other and collectively capture a larger domain of knowledge, thus forming a more effective knowledge representation tool. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 42: 741–766, 2005

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A Theoretical Note on Concepts and the Need for Cyclic Concept Maps.

There is a growing concern among researchers with the limited effectiveness and yet subsequent stagnation of theories applied to physical activity (PA). One of the most highlighted areas of concern is the established gap between intention and PA, yet the considerable use of models that assume intention is the proximal antecedent of PA. The objective of this review was to: 1) provide a guide and thematic analysis of the available models that include constructs that address intention-behavior discordance and 2) highlight the evidence for these structures in the PA domain. A literature search was conducted among 13 major databases to locate relevant models and PA studies published before August 2014. Sixteen models were identified and nine overall themes for post-intentional constructs were created. Of the 16 models, eight were applied to 36 PA studies. Early evidence supported maintenance self-efficacy, behavioral regulation strategies, affective judgments, perceived control/opportunity, habit, and extraversion as reliable predictors of post-intention PA. Several intention-behavior discordance models exist within the literature, but are not used frequently. Further efforts are needed to test these models, preferably with experimental designs.

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Models accounting for intention-behavior discordance in the physical activity domain: a user’s guide, content overview, and review of current evidence

Dialogue has become a central theoretical concept in human and social sciences as well as in professions such as education, health, and psychotherapy. This 'dialogical turn' emphasises the importance of social relations and interaction to our behaviour and how we make sense of the world; hence the dialogical mind is the mind in interaction with others - with individuals, groups, institutions, and cultures in historical perspectives. Through a combination of rigorous theoretical work and empirical investigation, Markova presents an ethics of dialogicality as an alternative to the narrow perspective of individualism and cognitivism that has traditionally dominated the field of social psychology. The dialogical perspective, which focuses on interdependencies among the self and others, offers a powerful theoretical basis to comprehend, analyse, and discuss complex social issues. Markova considers the implications of dialogical epistemology both in daily life and in professional practices involving problems of communication, care, and therapy.

Will and needs.

Citations

Looking forward and looking back: integrating completion and sunk-cost effects within an escalation-of-commitment progress decision.

A Theoretical Note on Concepts and the Need for Cyclic Concept Maps.

Models accounting for intention-behavior discordance in the physical activity domain: a user’s guide, content overview, and review of current evidence

The Dialogical Mind: Common Sense and Ethics

Acting under uncertainty: The core-task analysis in ecological study of work

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