The Sunk Cost Effect in Humans: Procedural Comparisons

This study administered a version of a sunk cost procedure by Pattison and colleagues (2011) using human participants. Participants played a computer game where they worked to kill monsters (using Fixed-ratio schedules). They completed an initial investment towards one monster and then a second monster arrived. They then could choose to continue killing the initial monster or kill the second monster. The amount of initial investment was varied. Additionally, hypothetical sunk cost scenarios were administered based on Garland (1990) and Garland and Newport (1991). Data were collected in the fall 2019 semester at a midwestern university using undergraduate students.