Popular in Psychology

Books

City Time: On Being Sentenced to Rikers Island

Independent Scholar David A. Campbell

Most Cited

The adapted mind

Dalhousie University Jerome Barkow

Experimental Psychology

Time to investigate human visual shape perception

University of Montreal Martin Arguin

Most Cited

James S. Jackson and the program for research on Black Americans

Harvard University David R. Williams

Psychology

Violence and Mental Illness: Rethinking Risk Factors and Enhancing Public Safety

Duke University Eric Elbogen

Cognitive Psychology

Cognitive remediation – where are we now and what should we do next?

King's College London Til Wykes

The entrenchment effect: Why people persist with less-preferred behaviors

View more insights in Social Sciences - Psychology - Behavioural Neuroscience

View more figures from University of California San Diego

View the page of On Amir

Read the Study

Why do people get stuck in less-preferred tasks? On Amir uncovers the cause and provides insights for behavior change.

Image courtesy of interviewee. December 11, 2023

Generating Workspace

Export as PDF

This video video discusses the psychological concept of "entrenchment," which is the tendency for individuals to become stuck in less productive behaviors or tasks, making it harder to switch to more efficient alternatives. It illustrates this with examples, such as being too comfortable in front of the TV to get up for a drink, or starting an email on a mobile phone and refusing to switch to a computer for efficiency.

The author explains that this behavior can be attributed to cognitive costs associated with switching tasks. People often perceive the cost of switching as greater than the actual benefits of doing so, which can lead to sticking with an annoying task even when better options are available.

The paper presents experiments where participants are given both annoying and enjoyable tasks. Observations show that as participants spend more time on the annoying task, they become less likely to switch to the enjoyable one. The author suggests that this entrenchment can be mitigated by making the other tasks more accessible or alternating between tasks, which reduces the perceived cost of switching.

In conclusion, the discussion emphasizes that poor decisions may not always stem from a lack of self-control, but rather from cognitive processes that influence perceived costs and benefits. Understanding these mechanisms can help design environments that better facilitate task switching and improve decision-making outcomes for individuals.

Language:

Export as PDF

X-TIMESTAMP-MAP:LOCAL=00:00:00.000,MPEGTS=900000

00:00.785 --> 00:03.265
I dunno if you ever had the experience of, you know, you,

00:03.365 --> 00:07.145
you sit in front of the TV and you're really thirsty

00:08.055 --> 00:10.755
and you can see the fridge kind of on the corner

00:10.815 --> 00:14.105
of your eye, and as you sit there, you get thirsty

00:14.105 --> 00:16.145
and thirsty, but you can't bring yourself to actually get up

00:16.145 --> 00:18.025
because you're already sitting in front of the tv.

00:19.115 --> 00:21.495
That's an example of entrenchment, right?

00:21.495 --> 00:23.375
It's the idea that, that you kind of, you dig deeper

00:23.435 --> 00:26.415
and deeper kind of in a, in a less than positive hole.

00:27.155 --> 00:29.375
And the deeper you dig, the harder it is to get out of it.

00:29.375 --> 00:32.255
So there, you know, there could be like any real behavior in

00:32.255 --> 00:33.535
the world, there could be several reasons.

00:34.395 --> 00:38.295
Um, we focus in this paper on,

00:39.395 --> 00:42.255
on cognitive reasons, and that is,

00:42.255 --> 00:43.695
and we, we specifically, you know,

00:43.695 --> 00:45.855
that this wasn't a great example of what we do in the paper,

00:45.855 --> 00:48.415
because in the paper we do kind of, we discuss tasks

00:48.415 --> 00:50.015
that you're supposed to complete.

00:50.715 --> 00:52.375
And sitting in front of the TV is not exactly

00:52.405 --> 00:53.495
that, that kind of task.

00:53.835 --> 00:57.655
But you can imagine yourself, starting to respond

00:58.115 --> 01:00.295
to an email you received over the phone

01:00.555 --> 01:02.015
as you walk in towards your office.

01:02.955 --> 01:05.495
Um, and it's pretty difficult to type on the phone

01:06.275 --> 01:08.015
and you enter your office, now you're in front

01:08.015 --> 01:11.655
of your computer and it's so easy to say, you know what,

01:11.835 --> 01:13.775
in the three sentences I started on the phone,

01:13.935 --> 01:16.255
I can recreate on a computer and just finish the email.

01:16.365 --> 01:17.455
Much, much easier.

01:18.355 --> 01:21.295
But because you started, you're less likely to do it.

01:21.875 --> 01:26.295
And the reason, the reason we think that happens is that

01:26.955 --> 01:31.655
the task of typing on the phone, makes a certain kind

01:31.655 --> 01:33.535
of information set accessible in your brain.

01:35.105 --> 01:40.005
And switching tasks requires switching that information set.

01:41.375 --> 01:45.035
And that perceives to be costly is perceived to be costly,

01:45.795 --> 01:47.285
even though that cost is,

01:47.345 --> 01:49.445
is sometimes minuscule compared to the benefit.

01:50.305 --> 01:53.785
But that that mere cost of switching task set could,

01:53.785 --> 01:56.345
could prevent you from doing the, the more efficient,

01:56.395 --> 01:57.945
going onto the more efficient path.

01:58.085 --> 02:00.825
So we, what we don't do is we don't do

02:01.695 --> 02:04.345
what a computer would do is kind of the,

02:04.365 --> 02:06.465
the easy cost benefit analysis.

02:07.175 --> 02:10.025
Just the mere fact that there is some cost prevents us from

02:10.025 --> 02:11.465
undertaking the better path.

02:11.565 --> 02:13.905
So in this kind of generally, the, the type

02:13.905 --> 02:18.335
of methodology we have is we have somebody perform a,

02:18.875 --> 02:21.375
relatively annoying task.

02:22.075 --> 02:24.015
And I can't, I think, I can't take credit

02:24.075 --> 02:25.855
for inventing the most annoying task.

02:25.955 --> 02:27.975
My, my co-author did that, but,

02:28.035 --> 02:30.855
but I, I was the one who got the hate mail afterwards from,

02:30.885 --> 02:31.935
from participants.

02:32.515 --> 02:35.775
Uh, I, I can, you know, my favorite was,

02:36.575 --> 02:38.815
I bet you tortured small animals as a kid.

02:38.875 --> 02:40.495
You know, luckily I don't take that to heart

02:40.515 --> 02:42.735
and I did not torture small animals as a kid.

02:43.115 --> 02:44.815
Um, but basically we have people

02:44.835 --> 02:46.015
do something that's rather annoying.

02:46.015 --> 02:49.855
I'll give you an example. Um, we, we scanned some document

02:50.555 --> 02:54.925
and we, and we portray it to participants sideways.

02:54.985 --> 02:57.325
So you kind of, it's 90 degree rotated, so you have to,

02:57.355 --> 02:58.525
it's pretty annoying to read.

02:58.825 --> 03:00.805
And, and we asked them, we asked them to transcribe it,

03:02.265 --> 03:04.405
and that that's pretty annoying.

03:04.545 --> 03:06.845
And before they started, we showed them this

03:06.855 --> 03:09.285
among several other tasks, some of which are really fun,

03:09.355 --> 03:11.285
like playing a boggle game or, or,

03:11.825 --> 03:14.005
or rating jokes or whatever.

03:14.705 --> 03:19.455
And at some point we, we allow them the option to switch

03:19.635 --> 03:21.535
to the more preferred task

03:22.915 --> 03:26.055
and kind of still get paid for the session in the same way.

03:27.385 --> 03:29.165
And you'd expect everyone to switch.

03:29.475 --> 03:30.845
Like everyone should switch.

03:31.935 --> 03:34.475
And people who've started, not all of them switch,

03:34.975 --> 03:37.555
and the more time they spent on their annoying task,

03:38.295 --> 03:39.795
the less likely they are to switch.

03:40.295 --> 03:41.595
That's the entrenchment for you.

03:43.355 --> 03:45.855
And you also ask kind of what can we do about it, right?

03:47.595 --> 03:49.575
So there's several ways we could,

03:49.635 --> 03:51.295
we could basically overcome this.

03:51.355 --> 03:52.695
One is we could explicitly say,

03:52.695 --> 03:53.895
Hey, you know, look, this is crazy.

03:55.255 --> 03:57.235
You know, the other thing is, is

03:57.235 --> 04:00.795
another one is if this is in fact a task set

04:01.385 --> 04:05.915
switching cost, then if we, alternate

04:05.915 --> 04:09.955
between tasks initially so that you have in your,

04:10.055 --> 04:13.965
in your active setting in your brain, the other sets,

04:14.515 --> 04:16.165
then switching isn't as costly.

04:16.165 --> 04:19.045
And that's what we find in some of the studies as well is

04:19.045 --> 04:22.005
that once you have alternating tasks,

04:22.065 --> 04:23.845
you don't see this entrenchment happening.

04:23.945 --> 04:25.765
So what we specifically mean is that

04:25.955 --> 04:30.645
because that other information is already active changing

04:30.705 --> 04:31.805
to it isn't costly

04:32.735 --> 04:34.595
or isn't perceived as costly, it's not even, you know,

04:34.595 --> 04:36.395
it doesn't have to actually be a real cause it's enough

04:36.395 --> 04:38.475
that it's perceived to be costly and it,

04:38.475 --> 04:41.755
and if it already existed, it's perceived to be less costly

04:41.775 --> 04:44.595
and so, or, or not perceived to be not costly.

04:44.595 --> 04:48.935
There are many instances where people seem to, to operate

04:49.115 --> 04:51.175
or behave in ways that we think

04:52.255 --> 04:55.595
are surprisingly poor judgment or surprisingly poor choices.

04:55.705 --> 05:00.115
Sometimes we, we think of it as, as, poor self-control

05:01.465 --> 05:03.365
and, and

05:03.385 --> 05:06.685
and mapping the, the reasons, the underlying processes

05:06.685 --> 05:08.685
that lead to that shows us a,

05:08.685 --> 05:11.525
that it's not actually necessarily self-control in the

05:11.525 --> 05:12.965
classic way people think about it.

05:13.705 --> 05:16.525
And it's not necessarily, some

05:18.075 --> 05:19.815
flawed cost benefit analysis.

05:20.125 --> 05:22.535
It's more that in these cases people don't actually do the

05:22.535 --> 05:23.535
cost benefit analysis.

05:23.535 --> 05:24.735
So, so there enough, there's a,

05:24.735 --> 05:27.535
there's a small cost it prevent people

05:27.535 --> 05:28.575
from behaving properly.

05:28.955 --> 05:30.975
And I'll give you an example one.

05:30.995 --> 05:34.215
So we ask people whether in the past week they've, they've,

05:34.215 --> 05:36.015
they've experienced cases like this and,

05:36.015 --> 05:37.575
and a majority tell us they have.

05:37.575 --> 05:38.575
And so we ask them what,

05:39.195 --> 05:40.895
and one of them would be, would be a person

05:40.895 --> 05:42.775
that walks into the grocery store thinking

05:42.775 --> 05:43.895
they'll only buy a few items.

05:44.075 --> 05:45.735
And so they don't actually take a, a,

05:45.935 --> 05:47.215
a cart or, or a basket.

05:48.275 --> 05:49.855
And by the time they,

05:49.855 --> 05:52.135
they start walking in the grocery store, they remember that,

05:52.155 --> 05:54.415
you know, I, I kind of needed to buy more, more stuff.

05:55.285 --> 05:57.525
And so, but going back to taking a cart

05:57.545 --> 06:00.525
or the basket seems like it's, it's really costly.

06:00.785 --> 06:03.045
So they'll, they'll juggle, they'll, they'll struggle,

06:03.075 --> 06:06.325
they'll do crazy things or maybe not buy enough just

06:06.325 --> 06:08.205
because they haven't exerted this cost.

06:08.705 --> 06:11.925
So, so the planner, the store owner knowing

06:11.925 --> 06:15.125
that could place baskets in strategic locations

06:15.675 --> 06:17.805
that make it very easy to pick up, I don't have

06:17.805 --> 06:19.525
to actually go back and,

06:19.525 --> 06:22.605
and that that really helps the customers do

06:22.605 --> 06:23.645
what, what is best for them.

06:24.505 --> 06:28.325
So we can design the environment to be such, in such a way

06:28.325 --> 06:29.725
that understanding this kind of process,

06:29.865 --> 06:31.325
we can overcome issues like that

06:31.325 --> 06:33.845
and have people do things that are better for them.

06:33.845 --> 06:35.765
Conclusion, we, we, we've talked a little bit about that,

06:35.905 --> 06:37.965
but you know, we, we've studied several ways.

06:38.115 --> 06:42.525
There's other papers that compliment this where people think

06:42.525 --> 06:46.565
that that poor behavior on the, on the on part of, of,

06:46.795 --> 06:49.685
individuals in society is driven really by

06:51.535 --> 06:53.345
poor self-control, right?

06:53.385 --> 06:55.745
And you think that, if we train people, we tell them

06:55.765 --> 06:59.145
to have more self-control, we'll have a better society.

06:59.445 --> 07:01.345
And, and the answer is more complicated than that

07:01.345 --> 07:03.385
because there are different processes that seem

07:03.385 --> 07:05.905
to us like self-control might be at

07:05.905 --> 07:07.505
fault, but, but it's really not.

07:07.525 --> 07:09.345
And if you, if you can hit the nail on the head

07:10.285 --> 07:13.505
and not kind of bunch it all up as, as self-control,

07:13.765 --> 07:15.225
you could help people improve their lives.

07:15.945 --> 07:17.485
So that's, you know, that's part of that.

07:17.585 --> 07:20.965
And, and specifically identifying this cognitive mechanism

07:21.305 --> 07:23.285
points to particular ways in which we can

07:23.285 --> 07:24.325
help people overcome that.

07:25.115 --> 07:28.455
So that to me is where is where we can leap from this

07:28.475 --> 07:31.735
to other research to see what,

07:32.805 --> 07:35.895
what influences the ease of, of task switching?

07:36.245 --> 07:38.975
What, what influences the, the, the perceived ease

07:39.035 --> 07:42.255
or the perceived cost of, of task switching?

07:42.755 --> 07:47.295
Um, and what can we do pe so people can prepare

07:47.395 --> 07:49.775
and be better equipped to deal with these kind

07:49.775 --> 07:50.415
of situations?

00:00 - I dunno if you ever had the experience of, you know, you, you sit in front of the TV and you're really thirsty and you can see the fridge kind of on the corner of your eye, and as you sit there, you get thirsty and thirsty, but you can't bring yourself to actually get up because you're already sitting in front of the tv.

00:19 - That's an example of entrenchment, right? It's the idea that, that you kind of, you dig deeper and deeper kind of in a, in a less than positive hole. And the deeper you dig, the harder it is to get out of it. So there, you know, there could be like any real behavior in the world, there could be several reasons. we focus in this paper on, on cognitive reasons, and that is, and we, we specifically, you know, that this wasn't a great example of what we do in the paper,

00:45 - because in the paper we do kind of, we discuss tasks that you're supposed to complete. And sitting in front of the TV is not exactly that, that kind of task. But you can imagine yourself, starting to respond to an email you received over the phone as you walk in towards your office. and it's pretty difficult to type on the phone and you enter your office, now you're in front of your computer and it's so easy to say, you know what,

01:11 - in the three sentences I started on the phone, I can recreate on a computer and just finish the email. Much, much easier. But because you started, you're less likely to do it. And the reason, the reason we think that happens is that the task of typing on the phone, makes a certain kind of information set accessible in your brain. And switching tasks requires switching that information set. And that perceives to be costly is perceived to be costly, even though that cost is,

01:47 - is sometimes minuscule compared to the benefit. But that that mere cost of switching task set could, could prevent you from doing the, the more efficient, going onto the more efficient path. So we, what we don't do is we don't do what a computer would do is kind of the, the easy cost benefit analysis. Just the mere fact that there is some cost prevents us from undertaking the better path. So in this kind of generally, the, the type

02:13 - of methodology we have is we have somebody perform a, relatively annoying task. And I can't, I think, I can't take credit for inventing the most annoying task. My, my co-author did that, but, but I, I was the one who got the hate mail afterwards from, from participants. I, I can, you know, my favorite was, I bet you tortured small animals as a kid. You know, luckily I don't take that to heart

02:40 - and I did not torture small animals as a kid. but basically we have people do something that's rather annoying. I'll give you an example. we, we scanned some document and we, and we portray it to participants sideways. So you kind of, it's 90 degree rotated, so you have to, it's pretty annoying to read. And, and we asked them, we asked them to transcribe it, and that that's pretty annoying. And before they started, we showed them this

03:06 - among several other tasks, some of which are really fun, like playing a boggle game or, or, or rating jokes or whatever. And at some point we, we allow them the option to switch to the more preferred task and kind of still get paid for the session in the same way. And you'd expect everyone to switch. Like everyone should switch. And people who've started, not all of them switch, and the more time they spent on their annoying task,

03:38 - the less likely they are to switch. That's the entrenchment for you. And you also ask kind of what can we do about it, right? So there's several ways we could, we could basically overcome this. One is we could explicitly say, Hey, you know, look, this is crazy. You know, the other thing is, is another one is if this is in fact a task set switching cost, then if we, alternate

04:05 - between tasks initially so that you have in your, in your active setting in your brain, the other sets, then switching isn't as costly. And that's what we find in some of the studies as well is that once you have alternating tasks, you don't see this entrenchment happening. So what we specifically mean is that because that other information is already active changing to it isn't costly or isn't perceived as costly, it's not even, you know,

04:34 - it doesn't have to actually be a real cause it's enough that it's perceived to be costly and it, and if it already existed, it's perceived to be less costly and so, or, or not perceived to be not costly. There are many instances where people seem to, to operate or behave in ways that we think are surprisingly poor judgment or surprisingly poor choices. Sometimes we, we think of it as, as, poor self-control and, and and mapping the, the reasons, the underlying processes

05:06 - that lead to that shows us a, that it's not actually necessarily self-control in the classic way people think about it. And it's not necessarily, some flawed cost benefit analysis. It's more that in these cases people don't actually do the cost benefit analysis. So, so there enough, there's a, there's a small cost it prevent people from behaving properly.

05:28 - And I'll give you an example one. So we ask people whether in the past week they've, they've, they've experienced cases like this and, and a majority tell us they have. And so we ask them what, and one of them would be, would be a person that walks into the grocery store thinking they'll only buy a few items. And so they don't actually take a, a, a cart or, or a basket.

05:48 - And by the time they, they start walking in the grocery store, they remember that, you know, I, I kind of needed to buy more, more stuff. And so, but going back to taking a cart or the basket seems like it's, it's really costly. So they'll, they'll juggle, they'll, they'll struggle, they'll do crazy things or maybe not buy enough just because they haven't exerted this cost. So, so the planner, the store owner knowing that could place baskets in strategic locations

06:15 - that make it very easy to pick up, I don't have to actually go back and, and that that really helps the customers do what, what is best for them. So we can design the environment to be such, in such a way that understanding this kind of process, we can overcome issues like that and have people do things that are better for them. Conclusion, we, we, we've talked a little bit about that, but you know, we, we've studied several ways.

06:38 - There's other papers that compliment this where people think that that poor behavior on the, on the on part of, of, individuals in society is driven really by poor self-control, right? And you think that, if we train people, we tell them to have more self-control, we'll have a better society. And, and the answer is more complicated than that because there are different processes that seem to us like self-control might be at fault, but, but it's really not.

07:07 - And if you, if you can hit the nail on the head and not kind of bunch it all up as, as self-control, you could help people improve their lives. So that's, you know, that's part of that. And, and specifically identifying this cognitive mechanism points to particular ways in which we can help people overcome that. So that to me is where is where we can leap from this to other research to see what, what influences the ease of, of task switching?

07:36 - What, what influences the, the, the perceived ease or the perceived cost of, of task switching? and what can we do pe so people can prepare and be better equipped to deal with these kind of situations?

Faculti AI can make mistakes