PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Overspent this Christmas? Blame the ostrich problem!

2013-12-17
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Clare Parkin
clare.parkin@sheffield.ac.uk
01-142-229-851
University of Sheffield
Overspent this Christmas? Blame the ostrich problem! It's the festive season, time for eating, drinking and being merry, and any thoughts of reaching goals like losing weight or keeping on top of finances go out of the window.

And now a team of psychologists at the University of Sheffield have carried out new research which suggests that burying our head in the sand instead of trying to meet our targets this month is completely understandable - in fact we are motivated to do so.

Dr Thomas Webb, from the University's Department of Psychology, is the lead researcher on a project looking at the effect that monitoring progress can have when striving to achieve a goal. His research suggests that despite evidence that monitoring can help people to reach their targets, like regularly stepping on the scales when trying to drop a few pounds, there are times when individuals intentionally avoid such information.

"There will be plenty of us over the Christmas period who will not check our bank balance or look at the calories on the back of the box of mince pies despite us wanting to be in control of our money or lose weight," said Dr Webb.

"The project proposes that there is an 'ostrich problem' such that people bury their heads in the sand."

Although there may be practical reasons why people do not monitor their progress (for example, sometimes we can find the information too difficult to interpret, such as complicated nutrition labels or cryptic energy bills), Dr Webb says that research into the ostrich problem suggests that there are also motivated reasons for avoiding information as well.

"The ostrich problem is the idea that there are times when people would rather not know how they're doing," he said. "Avoiding monitoring may allow people to escape from negative feelings associated with an accurate appraisal of progress. For example, people might not want to know how much money they have spent or what their partner thinks of their social skills. We call this motivated inattention."

Dr Webb said that promoting lasting changes in people's behaviour was one of the most significant challenges facing science and society. His four-year project - which ends in 2015 and has been funded by the European Research Council (ERC) - seeks to understand why people avoid monitoring their goal progress and, by so doing, find ways to promote monitoring and help people to achieve their goals.

### A link to a paper describing The Ostrich Problem can be viewed online via http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/spc3.12071/pdf


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

UCLA study challenges long-held hypothesis that iron promotes atherosclerosis

2013-12-17
UCLA study challenges long-held hypothesis that iron promotes atherosclerosis A UCLA research team has found no evidence of an association between iron levels in the body and the risk of atherosclerosis, the hardening and ...

New gene mutation will help better diagnosis of myopathy

2013-12-17
New gene mutation will help better diagnosis of myopathy A new gene mutation which will help doctors give a more accurate diagnosis of a particular type of brain and muscle disease in children has been discovered for the first time by University of Leeds experts. Mitochondrial ...

Social benefits of regret, ethics of gift giving in business, humor after a hurricane

2013-12-17
Social benefits of regret, ethics of gift giving in business, humor after a hurricane New research in our journals The social benefits of regret As the year draws to an end, regret often comes to mind – regret of trips not taken, ...

Radiation therapy to treat uterine cancer linked with increased risk of bladder cancer later in life

2013-12-17
Radiation therapy to treat uterine cancer linked with increased risk of bladder cancer later in life Radiation therapy used to treat uterine cancer may increase a patient's risk of developing bladder cancer. That is the conclusion of a recent study published in BJU International. ...

Traffic jams lend insight into emperor penguin huddle

2013-12-17
Traffic jams lend insight into emperor penguin huddle Emperor penguins maintain the tight huddle that protects them from the harsh conditions of an Antarctic winter with stop-and-go movements like cars in a traffic jam, a new study has shown. By using ...

Fracking chemicals disrupt hormone function

2013-12-17
Fracking chemicals disrupt hormone function Endocrine-disrupting activity linked to birth defects, infertility found near drilling sites Chevy Chase, MD—A controversial oil and natural gas drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, uses ...

Vanderbilt study: Ancient chemical bond may aid cancer therapy

2013-12-17
Vanderbilt study: Ancient chemical bond may aid cancer therapy Researchers included 48 middle- and high-school students in five states, from Arkansas to Maine A chemical bond discovered by Vanderbilt University scientists that is essential ...

Embargoed news from Annals of Internal Medicine -- Vitamin supplements a waste of money?

2013-12-17
Embargoed news from Annals of Internal Medicine -- Vitamin supplements a waste of money? Annals of Internal Medicine tip sheet for Dec. 17, 2013 1. Physicians urge, 'stop wasting money on vitamin and mineral supplements' Editorialists responding to three ...

Lion numbers could improve with new sustainable hunting quotas

2013-12-17
Lion numbers could improve with new sustainable hunting quotas Researchers have devised a simple and reliable way to set sustainable quotas for hunting lions, to help lion populations to grow, in a new study. Trophy hunting occurs in 9 of the ...

4 degree rise will end vegetation 'carbon sink'

2013-12-17
4 degree rise will end vegetation 'carbon sink' Latest climate and biosphere modelling suggests that the length of time carbon remains in vegetation during the global carbon cycle - known as 'residence time' - is the key "uncertainty" in predicting how ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Moffitt studies uncover complementary strategies to overcome resistance to KRAS G12Cinhibitors in lung cancer

National summit of experts charts unprecedented roadmap to reduce harms from firearms in new ways

Global environmental DNA (eDNA) surveys significantly expand known geographic and ecological niche ranges of marine fish, highlighting current biases in conservation and ecological modeling

Hundreds of animal studies on brain damage after stroke flagged for problematic images

Prize winner’s research reveals how complex neural circuits are correctly wired during brain development

Supershear rupture sustained in thick fault zone during 2025 Mandalay earthquake, study in research package shows

Study reveals how brain cell networks stabilize memory formation

CTE: More than just head trauma, suggests new study

New psychology study suggests chimpanzees might be rational thinkers

Study links genetic variants to higher 'bad' cholesterol and heart attack risk

Myanmar fault had ideal geometry to produce 2025 supershear earthquake

Breakthrough in BRCA2 research: a novel mechanism behind chemoresistance discovered

New funding for health economics research on substance use disorder treatments

Tying protein to fraying DNA solves mystery of illness for patients around the world

MD Anderson shares latest research breakthroughs

19 women’s college basketball coaches join forces to improve women’s cardiovascular health

Palaeontology: How ammolite gemstones get their vivid colours

New study explores ‘legacy effects’ of soil microbes on plants across Kansas

Nanotyrannus confirmed: Dueling dinosaurs fossil rewrites the story of T. rex

How do planets get wet? Experiments show water creation during planet formation process

The diagnosis and evolving treatment landscape of systemic light chain amyloidosis

Lactylation in gynecological malignancies: a bridge between lactate metabolism and epigenetic therapy

Immune cell phenotypes, inflammatory proteins and epilepsy

Olfaction and coronary heart disease

Consistent adherence to physical activity guidelines and digestive system cancer risk and mortality

Beliefs about the effect of alcohol use on cancer risk in the us adult population

Comprehensive molecular profiling of renal medullary carcinoma identifies TROP2 as a promising therapeutic target

Breast cancer risk varies between different hormonal contraceptives

Immature brain-supporting cells switch fate to restore blood flow after stroke 

Making more supply to meet the demands of muscle cell therapy

[Press-News.org] Overspent this Christmas? Blame the ostrich problem!