Goal-gradient effect
We try harder as we get closer to a goal, and it is enough for it to seem closer for us to speed up.
What problem it addresses
It explains why people speed up near the end of a loyalty card, a course or a progress bar.
An example
A coffee shop handed out two cards: an empty 10-stamp card and a 12-stamp card with 2 already stamped. Both required 10 coffees.
The effort required was the same. Feeling they had already made progress made people finish almost three days sooner.
Why it happens
We measure progress as a proportion, not in absolute numbers.
The closer the end seems, the more the effort seems worth it.
That is why we speed up as we near the end.
Applications in design
Use it like this
Show progress and start with some head start: the first step done, a bar that doesn’t start at zero.
Avoid
Inventing fake progress or goals that move away as you get closer.
Don’t fall for it
If you are speeding up to complete something, ask whether the reward is worth what you spend.
20%
What the research says
That is how much the time between purchases shrank as customers got closer to the free coffee (Kivetz, Urminsky and Zheng, 2006).
Solid evidence. The idea comes from Hull (1932), who observed that rats ran faster the closer they were to the food.
Connections
Used in
Authors and works
- 1932
Clark Hull
Formulated the goal-gradient hypothesis in experiments with animals.
- 2006
Ran Kivetz, Oleg Urminsky and Yuhuang Zheng
Confirmed it with real customers of loyalty programs.
Sources
Original sources
- Kivetz, R., Urminsky, O., & Zheng, Y. (2006). The goal-gradient hypothesis resurrected: Purchase acceleration, illusionary goal progress, and customer retention. Journal of Marketing Research, 43(1), 39–58. View source: Kivetz, R., Urminsky, O., & Zheng, Y. (2006)
- Hull, C. L. (1932). The goal-gradient hypothesis and maze learning. Psychological Review, 39(1), 25–43. View source: Hull, C. L. (1932)
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