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Pardon the Interruption: Goal Proximity, Perceived Spare Time, and Impatience

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  • Ji Hoon Jhang
  • John G. Lynch Jr.

Abstract

There is no worse time to be interrupted than right now. Being close to attaining a goal to complete a focal task increases the attractiveness of that task compared to an interrupting task (study 1), makes people less willing to take on some otherwise attractive interruption than if they were farther away from completion (studies 2, 3, and 4), and causes them to perceive that in that moment they have little spare time (studies 3 and 4). Consumers immersed in goal pursuit are affected by local progress on an individual subgoal that supports an overarching goal even if this has no effect on the timing of attaining the overarching goal. Observers do not appreciate the motivating power of proximity to completing subgoals, and this leads them to mispredict the behavior of others (study 5).

Suggested Citation

  • Ji Hoon Jhang & John G. Lynch Jr., 2015. "Pardon the Interruption: Goal Proximity, Perceived Spare Time, and Impatience," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 41(5), pages 1267-1283.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:doi:10.1086/679308
    DOI: 10.1086/679308
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    Cited by:

    1. Kim, Kihyon & Jhang, Jihoon & Song, Sangyoung & Shin, Hyun & Song, Sujin, 2024. "Goal proximity effect on collective action: The mediating role of perceived behavioral impact and collective outcome expectancy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    2. Hasford, Jonathan & Farmer, Adam & Waites, Stacie F., 2015. "Thinking, feeling, and giving: The effects of scope and valuation on consumer donations," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 435-438.
    3. Yanwen Wang & Michael Lewis & Cynthia Cryder & Jim Sprigg, 2016. "Enduring Effects of Goal Achievement and Failure Within Customer Loyalty Programs: A Large-Scale Field Experiment," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 35(4), pages 565-575, July.

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