PhD Candidate: Marco Mattei (University of Milan)
Marco will defend his PhD dissertation at the University of Milan, Italy. His research focuses on Joint Action, Efforts, Attention and Ensemble Perception.
Supervisor: John Michael (University of Milan)
Title
Resistance to Reconsideration and the Psychology of Goal Disengagement
Abstract
Why do people persist with failing plans, even when changing course would cost nothing? Classical explanations of sunk-cost sensitivity portray escalation as a cognitive error rooted in waste aversion, regret aversion, or cognitive dissonance. In this defense, I present evidence that escalation is better understood as a socially and normatively grounded form of “resistance to reconsideration”: a reluctance to revise commitments when doing so carries reputational and cognitive costs. Across a series of 3 preregistered studies using waste-free and interpersonal paradigms, I show that people persist not only after investing their own effort, but often even more when others have invested, casting doubt on theories tied to personal loss, waste, or responsibility. Persistence systematically increased when actions were observable, when commitments signaled reliability, and when abandoning a plan risked appearing inconsistent to real or imagined audiences. When these social expectations were removed, escalation diminished or shifted toward honoring one’s own effort instead. I situate these findings within a newly emerging broader framework in the psychology and philosophy of action: I propose that sunk-cost sensitivity is a special case of goal-directed resistance to reconsideration. Together, the presented work reframes escalation not as irrational persistence, but as an adaptive, though sometimes costly, response to the social ecology of human decision-making.
Everyone interested is welcome to attend.
The meeting will be held in English.
Where: Sala Piero Martinetti. Via Festa del Perdono 7 20161 Milano, Italia
When: 21/01/2026 – 13:00 CET