Sunk Costs of Time vs. Money: In-Class Experiment Findings
This paper presents the findings of an in-class experiment designed to investigate how sunk costs of time and money independently influence decision-making. Drawing on prior research suggesting that time is not treated as a sunk cost unless monetized, the study tested this claim by presenting college students with four survey scenarios that varied in time and monetary investment. Results from twenty-two participants showed that time investments produced a slightly greater influence on the decision to remain with an original course of action than monetary investments did, challenging the existing literature. Although the findings are not conclusive due to small sample size and design limitations, they point toward meaningful directions for future research on the psychology of sunk costs.
- Introduction: Sunk-cost irrationality in time and money decisions
- Methods: Survey design, participants, apparatus, and procedure
- Results: Statistical trends across four survey conditions
- Discussion: Time investments outweigh monetary sunk costs
- Conclusion: Future research directions on sunk-cost perception
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper clearly frames its research question in relation to a specific prior study (Soman, 2001), giving the reader an immediate sense of scholarly context and purpose.
- The methods section is transparent about limitations — small sample size, uneven response rates across conditions, and lack of confidentiality controls — which strengthens the paper's intellectual honesty.
- The discussion section correctly interprets results as inconclusive while still extracting meaningful implications, avoiding the common student error of over-claiming findings.
Key academic technique demonstrated
This paper demonstrates the use of a null or counter-result discussion: rather than forcing significance onto weak data, the author acknowledges inconclusive results and redirects toward the implications for future research design. This is a hallmark of responsible empirical writing, where the integrity of the scientific process is prioritized over outcome-oriented conclusions.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a standard IMRaD structure (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion) with a brief concluding section. The Methods section is further subdivided into Subjects/Participants, Apparatus, Design, and Procedure — a thorough breakdown that models good experimental reporting practice for an undergraduate audience. The single reference grounds the paper in a specific theoretical dispute, keeping the scope manageable.
Introduction
The concept of sunk costs — previous costs that have been placed toward a given choice and cannot be recouped regardless of the future outcome — is a phenomenon that has long intrigued psychologists and economists alike. The irrationality of behavior that results from considering sunk costs, where individuals base future decisions on the amount already invested rather than on future costs and potential outcomes (which would be the more rational approach), is well-documented when monetary costs are specifically considered. When the issue involves time instead of, or in addition to, money, however, it is not at all clear whether sunk costs operate the same way. It has been suggested that time is not viewed the same way as money unless it is monetized (Soman, 2001). This experiment set out to investigate that claim.
References
Soman, D. (2001). The mental accounting of sunk time costs: Why time is not like money. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 14(3), 169–185.
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