The Exaggerated Benefits of Failure

Lauren Eskreis-Winkler*, Kaitlin Woolley, Eda Erensoy, Minhee Kim

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Commencement speakers, business leaders, and the popular press tell us that failure has at least one benefit: It fuels success. Does it? Across 11 studies, including a field study of medical professionals, predictors overestimated the rate at which people course correct following failure (Studies 1–4). Predictors overestimated the likelihood that professionals who fail a professional exam (e.g., the bar exam, the medical boards) pass a retest (Studies 1a, 1b, and 2a), the likelihood that patients improve their health after a crisis (e.g., heart attack, drug overdose; Studies 2b and 6), and the probability, more generally, of learning from one’s mistakes (Studies 3–5). This effect was specific to overestimating success following failure (Study 4) and erasing mention of an initial failure that had actually occurred corrected the problem (Studies 2a and 2b). The success overestimate was due, at least in part, to the belief that people attend to failure more than they do (Studies 5 and 6). Correcting this overestimate had policy implications. Citizens apprised of the sobering true rate of postfailure success increased their support for rehabilitative initiatives aimed at helping struggling populations (e.g., people with addiction, ex-convicts) learn from past mistakes (Studies 7a–7c).

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1920-1937
Number of pages18
JournalJournal of Experimental Psychology: General
Volume153
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 10 2024

Keywords

  • failure
  • misprediction
  • motivation
  • policy reform
  • success

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
  • General Psychology
  • Developmental Neuroscience

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