Henrik Hagtvedt

Henrik Hagtvedt

Henrik Hagtvedt appears on this site as co-author of the 2012 Journal of Consumer Research paper on the words don't and can't in refusal.

Who they are

The work of Henrik Hagtvedt reaches this site through the paper listed below. On this site the name is tied to Empowered Refusal.

Key papers

Patrick, V. M., & Hagtvedt, H. (2012). I don't versus I can't: When empowered refusal motivates goal-directed behavior. Journal of Consumer Research, 39(2), 371-381. What it reports: Four studies of self-talk. Refusing a temptation with the words I don't, rather than I can't, helped people resist and keep to their goals, an effect the authors explain through a sense of empowerment.

Key ideas

Empowered Refusal: Framing a refusal as a standing choice, with the word don't, not as a limit, with the word can't, which helped people resist temptation in four studies.

Sources

  1. Patrick, V. M., & Hagtvedt, H. (2012). I don't versus I can't: When empowered refusal motivates goal-directed behavior. Journal of Consumer Research, 39(2), 371-381.