Niro Sivanathan

Who they are

The work of Niro Sivanathan reaches this site through the paper listed below. The name is tied to De-escalation of Commitment, Self-Affirmation Theory, Escalation of Commitment.

Key papers

Sivanathan, N., Molden, D. C., Galinsky, A. D., & Ku, G. (2008). The promise and peril of self-affirmation in de-escalation of commitment. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 107(1), 1-14. What it reports: Three experiments. Affirming self-worth through high self-esteem, a most important value, or an unrelated ability reduced reinvestment in a failing choice; affirming the ability the failed decision questioned increased commitment.

Key ideas

De-escalation of Commitment: Procedures and states of mind that reduce further investment in a failing course of action, such as targets set in advance, process-based judgement and self-affirmation.

Self-Affirmation Theory: The idea that affirming self-worth through values or strengths eases the threat that failure poses to the self.

Escalation of Commitment: The tendency to increase investment in a failing course of action, strongest when the decision maker chose that course.

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