Social Area Brown Bag Talk: It’s risky, therefore I do it; Counterfinality as a source of perceived instrumentality of extreme behavior as means to goals

Why do people choose extreme behaviors as opposed to finding alternative means to fulfill their goals? I propose that extreme behaviors may be perceived as particularly instrumental to certain goals because of their potential negative consequences. This possibility is suggested by the principle of counterfinality whereby, a means is perceived as particularly instrumental to one’s goals to the extent to which it is detrimental to alternative goals. In line with this notion, we show that: 1) extreme behavior is more likely when its negative consequences are salient; 2) people who are more concerned with finding the “best” means to fulfill their goals (i.e. people high in a regulatory mode characterized by assessment) are more likely to engage in extreme behavior to fulfill relevant goals; 3) accessbility of relevant goals increases the likelihood of engagement in extreme behaviors by increasing their perceived riskiness and therefore their perceived instrumentality.