MENTAL MODEL · M3980

Endowed Progress Effect

CreateHigh supportDesign Thinking

Included

Updated 2026-08-08

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INTRODUCTION

English translation pending.

CORE DEFINITION

Documented by Joseph Nunes and Xavier Dreze, the endowed progress effect describes how a perceived head start raises completion rates. In their car-wash field experiment, customers given a ten-stamp card with two stamps already filled completed more often than customers given an eight-stamp card with none filled, even though both required the same number of purchases. The effect requires that the endowed progress be framed as progress already achieved, and the remaining work must stay the same.

SCAFFOLDING EFFECT

psychology

Reduce cognitive load

- Head start design: fill part of the progress bar before the user has done any work. - Effort reframe: describe the hardest phase as already completed when you hand over a task. - Finish line pull: show how little remains so the rest reads as closing out.

anchor

Anchor fast decisions

Endowed progress shifts the mental accounting of a task from starting at zero to closing out something nearly finished. Because the remaining work is framed as finishing rather than beginning, the barrier of initiation is removed and goal commitment rises, so more people persist to the end.

MINIMUM ACTION

In progress 0/1

Practice this model in one real situation:

Pre-fill a progress indicator with the first steps already granted. 2. Describe the hardest phase as complete when you hand over a task. 3. Break the goal into visible milestones and mark the current position. 4. Close with a message that emphasises how little remains.

Check to track your progress (stored locally)

Learning progress0%

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Source support: Explicit

link
ideas.repec.orghttps://ideas.repec.org/a/oup/jconrs/v32y2006i4p504-512.htmlZH · Explicit
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