On the Use and Usefulness of Backup Plans. (January 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Napolitano, Christopher M.; Freund, Alexandra M.
• Is Part Of: Perspectives on psychological science. Volume 11:Number 1(2016)
• Page Start: 56
• Page End: 73
• Publication Date: 2016-01
• Subjects: goals -- life-span development -- motivation -- self-regulation -- complexity value -- backup plans; Psychology -- Periodicals; 150
• DOI: 10.1177/1745691615596991
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1745-6916

Abstract

In this article, we introduce the concept of backup plans as a motivational construct, defined as alternative means to an end that are intentionally developed but are not initially (or ever) used. We posit that backup plans change the way that a person pursues a goal, as well as the likelihood of achieving it, even if the backup plans are never used. In some cases, backup plans are a safety net supporting goal pursuit; however, in other cases, they constitute an unnecessary expense that can undermine motivation to persist with a first-choice plan. We propose that variations in the use and usefulness of backup plans are based on a person's estimation and regulation of complexity value, or the additional costs and benefits that having a backup plan introduces compared with pursuing the same goal with only a single means. Although variations in the estimation and regulation of complexity value are idiosyncratic products of individual, contextual, and goal-related factors, we provide the prototypical example of age-related differences to illustrate our key points. In sum, our conceptualization of backup plans represents a new synthesis of motivation, multiple-goal, and life-span developmental research that addresses a key lacuna in the self-regulation literature.