{"id":{"repo_id":"columbia-diss","oai_identifier":"oai:academiccommons.columbia.edu:10.7916/D89C74HN"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/columbia-diss/oai:academiccommons.columbia.edu:10.7916/D89C74HN","repository":{"repo_id":"columbia-diss","name":"Columbia University","base_url":"https://academiccommons.columbia.edu/oai"},"display":{"title":"Repeating the Follies of the Past: A Regulatory Focus Perspective","abstract":"Adopting a regulatory focus perspective, I study why people repeat a prior behavior that could be unpleasant, ineffective, or unethical. Driven by the concerns to avoid negative deviations from the status quo, the prevention aspect of self-regulation (i.e., prevention focus) is associated with the motivation to maintain the status quo (Higgins, 2005). Previous findings showing a prevention focus motivation to maintain the status quo suggest that sticking with a precedent is a safe choice that fits with prevention focus. Putting this motivation to a more challenging test, nine studies show that maintaining the status quo is a deep motivation for prevention focus that transcends hedonic, utilitarian, and ethical concerns. Specifically, being in a prevention focus, either measured as a chronic disposition or induced as a psychological state, increases the likelihood of 1) copying the managing behaviors of a role model, even when these behaviors are perceived as unpleasant or ineffective (Studies 1-5), and 2) repeating one's own choices regarding ethical behavior, regardless of whether the initial choice was ethical or not (Studies 6-9). Implications of this research and future directions are discussed.","abstract_html":"Adopting a regulatory focus perspective, I study why people repeat a prior behavior that could be unpleasant, ineffective, or unethical. Driven by the concerns to avoid negative deviations from the status quo, the prevention aspect of self-regulation (i.e., prevention focus) is associated with the motivation to maintain the status quo (Higgins, 2005). Previous findings showing a prevention focus motivation to maintain the status quo suggest that sticking with a precedent is a safe choice that fits with prevention focus. Putting this motivation to a more challenging test, nine studies show that maintaining the status quo is a deep motivation for prevention focus that transcends hedonic, utilitarian, and ethical concerns. Specifically, being in a prevention focus, either measured as a chronic disposition or induced as a psychological state, increases the likelihood of 1) copying the managing behaviors of a role model, even when these behaviors are perceived as unpleasant or ineffective (Studies 1-5), and 2) repeating one's own choices regarding ethical behavior, regardless of whether the initial choice was ethical or not (Studies 6-9). Implications of this research and future directions are discussed.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Zhang, Shu"],"institution":null,"degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012","date_published":"2012","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:44:23Z","subjects":["Organizational behavior"],"languages":["English"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.7916/D89C74HN","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Zhang, Shu"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2012"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Theses"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Organizational behavior"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://doi.org/10.7916/D89C74HN"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Adopting a regulatory focus perspective, I study why people repeat a prior behavior that could be unpleasant, ineffective, or unethical. Driven by the concerns to avoid negative deviations from the status quo, the prevention aspect of self-regulation (i.e., prevention focus) is associated with the motivation to maintain the status quo (Higgins, 2005). Previous findings showing a prevention focus motivation to maintain the status quo suggest that sticking with a precedent is a safe choice that fits with prevention focus. Putting this motivation to a more challenging test, nine studies show that maintaining the status quo is a deep motivation for prevention focus that transcends hedonic, utilitarian, and ethical concerns. Specifically, being in a prevention focus, either measured as a chronic disposition or induced as a psychological state, increases the likelihood of 1) copying the managing behaviors of a role model, even when these behaviors are perceived as unpleasant or ineffective (Studies 1-5), and 2) repeating one's own choices regarding ethical behavior, regardless of whether the initial choice was ethical or not (Studies 6-9). Implications of this research and future directions are discussed."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Repeating the Follies of the Past: A Regulatory Focus Perspective"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Zhang, Shu"],"dc:date":["2012"],"dc:description":["Adopting a regulatory focus perspective, I study why people repeat a prior behavior that could be unpleasant, ineffective, or unethical. Driven by the concerns to avoid negative deviations from the status quo, the prevention aspect of self-regulation (i.e., prevention focus) is associated with the motivation to maintain the status quo (Higgins, 2005). Previous findings showing a prevention focus motivation to maintain the status quo suggest that sticking with a precedent is a safe choice that fits with prevention focus. Putting this motivation to a more challenging test, nine studies show that maintaining the status quo is a deep motivation for prevention focus that transcends hedonic, utilitarian, and ethical concerns. Specifically, being in a prevention focus, either measured as a chronic disposition or induced as a psychological state, increases the likelihood of 1) copying the managing behaviors of a role model, even when these behaviors are perceived as unpleasant or ineffective (Studies 1-5), and 2) repeating one's own choices regarding ethical behavior, regardless of whether the initial choice was ethical or not (Studies 6-9). Implications of this research and future directions are discussed."],"dc:identifier":["https://doi.org/10.7916/D89C74HN"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:subject":["Organizational behavior"],"dc:title":["Repeating the Follies of the Past: A Regulatory Focus Perspective"],"dc:type":["Theses"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:44:23Z"}