Abstract
The present research investigated a common yet to date unexamined assumption that individuals are unlikely to savor success when they have not yet fully completed a task. In Study 1 (N = 83), we assessed savoring responses of soccer players who were either winning or were tied at the end of the first half (in progress) and at the end of the match (completed). In Study 2 (N = 121 undergraduates), performance feedback (successful vs. average) and task completion (in progress vs. completed) were manipulated and savoring was assessed. In both studies, successful individuals reported savoring their positive experience less when the task was in progress as compared to completed. Results of a third study (N = 152 undergraduates) showed that lower savoring of success was due to individuals’ focus on and worries about future performance as well as the perception that positive emotions have limited utility. We discuss these findings in terms of the consequences for performance and well-being.
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Notes
We additionally tested whether participants differed in their overall motivation and their perceptions of the general importance of the match. Results showed no significant effects across the conditions, ps ≥ .57.
Prior to conducting covariate analyses, we tested for interactions between the predictors (task completion, performance) and covariates (self-esteem, extraversion). There were no significant interaction effects on savoring, ps ≥ .62.
Lack of effects on savoring were likely not due to floor effects. Results of the Box test confirmed that variances did not significantly differ across team scores and the match and match completion conditions, p = .98.
We also tested whether participants differed in their overall motivation to perform well in the study and their perceived importance of concentration ability. No significant differences across the conditions were found, ps ≥ .15.
In line with the findings of Study 1, the present results additionally showed that in the task completed condition successful participants reported savoring the positive experience significantly more than those participants who performed average (M = 3.99 vs. M = 2.63), p < .001, d = 1.01. In the task-in-progress condition, results showed no significant difference in savoring, p = .18.
Results of correlational analyses for task focus showed that task focus was significantly correlated with perceived value in the task-completed condition but not in the task-in-progress condition.
When including task completion and task focus, worries, low utility, and value as mediators in a regression model simultaneously, the effect of task completion on savoring remained significant, p = .001, suggesting that there remains unexplained variance in why savoring occurs.
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We thank Rebecca Jung and Shraddha Kulkarni for their assistance with data collection.
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Schall, M., Goetz, T., Martiny, S.E. et al. It ain’t over ‘til it’s over: The effect of task completion on the savoring of success. Motiv Emot 41, 38–50 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-016-9591-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-016-9591-5