Promotion and prevention choices between stability and change

Two situations involving choice between stability and change were examined: Cask substitution, which deals with choosing between resuming an interrupt ed activity and doing a substitute activity, and endowment, which deals wit h choosing between a possessed object and an alternative object. Regulatory focus theory (E. T. Higgins, 1997, 1998) predicts that a promotion focus w ill be associated with openness to change, whereas a prevention focus will be associated with a preference for stability. Five studies confirmed this prediction with both situational induction of and chronic personality diffe rences in regulatory focus. In Studies 1 and 2, individuals in a prevention focus were more inclined than individuals in a promotion focus to resume a n interrupted task rather than do a substitute task. In Studies 3-5, indivi duals in a prevention focus, but not individuals in a promotion focus, exhi bited a reluctance to exchange currently possessed objects (i.e., endowment ) or previously possessed objects.