AiMTurkSYNTHETIC RESEARCH PRETEST · N=200
Sunk cost
Sunk costs are past investments of money, time or effort that cannot be recovered. Classic research found that prior investment can increase persistence. This study compares attendance after a free versus a 300-yuan ticket, with revised wording balancing interest and rest.
Design and results
Synthetic responses followed the predicted direction. This is a directional description, not a matched human-participant test.
| Group | n | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Free ticket | 100 | 45 |
| Paid ticket | 100 | 76 |
Group B minus A: 31.
Data and review
Downloads contain synthetic responses. Keep the questionnaire version, codebook and provenance label when analysing them.
Limitations and source
These results can help test questionnaire materials, branching and analysis workflows. They do not estimate human-population effects or replace human validation.
Arkes, H. R., & Blumer, C. (1985). The psychology of sunk cost. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 35(1), 124–140. Original research