On or off track: How (broken) streaks affect consumer decisions
Silverman and Barasch, Journal of Consumer Research 49(6), 2023, 1095-1117. Seven studies. A streak is the same behaviour done three or more consecutive times. Highlighting an intact streak in a behavioural log increased later engagement compared with highlighting a broken one, regardless of actual past behaviour. Authors' account: people treat maintaining a streak as a goal in itself. The effect was stronger when people blamed themselves for a break and weaker when they could repair the streak.
Silverman and Barasch, Journal of Consumer Research 49(6), 2023, 1095-1117. Seven studies. A streak is the same behaviour done three or more consecutive times. Highlighting an intact streak in a behavioural log increased later engagement compared with highlighting a broken one, regardless of actual past behaviour. Authors' account: people treat maintaining a streak as a goal in itself. The effect was stronger when people blamed themselves for a break and weaker when they could repair the streak.
Written from the abstract, 2026-11-05.
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Silverman, J., & Barasch, A. (2023). On or off track: How (broken) streaks affect consumer decisions. Journal of Consumer Research, 49(6), 1095-1117. doi:10.1093/jcr/ucac029 https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucac029