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On abstract goals’ perverse effects on proxies: The dynamics of unattainability

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 May 2024

José-Miguel Fernández-Dols Open the ORCID record for José-Miguel Fernández-Dols [Opens in a new window]
José-Miguel Fernández-Dols*
Affiliation:
Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
*
Corresponding author: José-Miguel Fernández-Dols; Email: jose.dols@uam.es
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Abstract

Proxies should not be classified as failures or successes because, in most cases, they are impossible translations of abstract, polysemous goals to supposedly univocal concrete measures. The “success” or “failure” of a proxy does not depend on its actual accuracy as a valid indicator of goal attainment, but on a social system's willingness to maintain an illusion of its accomplishment.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 47 , 2024 , e72
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press

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References

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