If you haven’t set a New Year’s resolution to lose weight, odds are about 100 percent that someone you know has. Indeed, Psychology Today magazine claims that the top three resolutions are losing weight, exercising more and quitting smoking.
If you do have a health goal, it seems logical that telling other people about it would help. You’d feel more accountable, they’d support you in your new behaviors, and your chances of success would increase, right?
Maybe not.
New York University researcher Peter Gollwitzer and colleagues believe the opposite is true. Here’s why.