When thinking rationally increases biases: The role of rational thinking style in escalation of commitment

This paper reports three studies examining the relationship between the rational thinking style (RTS, i.e. individual differences in relying on a conscious, analytical, and relatively affect-free information processing system) and decision quality in an escalation situation. In contrast to conventional wisdom that rational thinking increases decision quality, but consistent with the predictions derived from the cognitive dissonance theory, results of Studies 1 and 2 revealed that high scorers in Pacini and Epstein's (1999) rationality inventory were more likely to have escalation bias than were low scorers. The results further showed that only the ability component of rationality, not the engagement component, was positively correlated with escalating commitment. Similar patterns of results were obtained for situations when participants were personally responsible for prior decisions (Study 1) and when they were not (Study 2). Results of Study 3 showed that the underlying process responsible for the effect of RTS on the escalating tendency is that RTS increases beliefs in prior decisions, which in turn increases escalation. Implications for our understanding of escalation of commitment, rationality theory, and managerial practices are discussed. Cet article rend compte de 3 etudes examinant la relation entre le style de pensee rationnelle (RTS i.e. les differences individuelles reposent sur un systeme de traitement de l’information consciente, analytique et relativement libre d’affects) et la qualite de la decision dans une situation d’escalade d’engagement. Contrairement a l’opinion communement admise pour laquelle la pensee rationnelle accroit la qualite de la decision, mais consistante avec les predictions decoulant de la theorie de la dissonance cognitive, les resultats des etudes 1 et 2 indiquent que des personnes obtenant un score elevea l’Inventaire Rationnel-Experientiel de Pacini et Esptein (1999) sont plus enclines a tomber dans le piege de l’escalade d’engagement que celles dont le score est bas. D’autres resultats montrent que la capacitea la rationalite, non celle a l’engagement, est positivement correlee avec l’escalade d’engagement. Des resultats semblables sont obtenus lors de situations ou les participants sont personnellement responsables de leurs decisions anterieures (Etude 1) ou non (Etude 2). Les resultats de l’etude 3 montrent que le processus responsable de l’effet du RTS sur la tendance a s’engager est le suivant: il accroit les croyances dans les decisions anterieures qui augmentent a leur tour l’engagement. Ces resultats nous permettent de mieux comprendre l’escalade d’engagement, la theorie rationnelle et les pratiques manageriales.