Are You Ready for a Fresh Start? (Update)

Behavioral scientists have been exploring whether a psychological reset can lead to lasting change. In this update of a 2021 episode, we survey evidence from the London Underground, Major League Baseball, and New Year’s resolutions to look at accidental fresh starts, forced fresh starts, fresh starts that backfire — and the ones that succeed.    SOURCES: Katy Milkman , professor at the Wharton School. Andy Byford , former commissioner of Transport for London. Ferdinand Rauch , economist at the University of St. Gallen. Hengchen Dai , professor at U.C.L.A.’s Anderson School of Management. Bob Tewksbury , former big-league pitcher.   RESOURCES: “ A Large-Scale Experiment on New Year’s Resolutions: Approach-Oriented Goals are More Successful than Avoidance-Oriented Goals ,” by Martin Oscarsson, Per Carlbring, Gerhard Andersson, and Alexander Rozental ( PLOS ONE , 2020). “ A Double-Edged Sword: How and Why Resetting Performance Metrics Affects Motivation and Performance ,” by Hengchen Dai ( Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes , 2018). “ The Benefits of Forced Experimentation: Striking Evidence from the London Underground Network ,” by Shaun Larcom, Ferdinand Rauch, and Tim Willems (2017). “ Framing the Future: The Risks of Pre-Commitment Nudges and Potential of Fresh Start Messaging ,” by John Beshears, Hengchen Dai, Katherine L. Milkman, and Shlomo Benartzi ( NBER , 2016). “ The Fresh Start Effect: Temporal Landmarks Motivate Aspirational Behavior ,” by Hengchen Dai, Katherine L. Milkman, and Jason Riis ( Management Science, 2014). “ Holding the Hunger Games Hostage at the Gym: An Evaluation of Temptation Bundlin g,” by Katherine L. Milkman, Julia A. Minson, and Kevin G. M. Volpp ( Management Science, 2013). “ The Resolution Solution: Longitudinal Examination of New Year’s Change Attempts ,” by John C. Norcross and Dominic J.Vangarelli ( Journal of Substance Abuse, 1989).   EXTRAS: How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be , by Katy Milkman (2021). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.