Overachiever (verb): to perform, especially academically, above the potential indicated by tests of one's mental ability or aptitude or to perform better or achieve more than expected, especially by others.
We’ve all been there to witness at some point in our lives detailed oriented people who just love getting extra points on everything they do. They become obsessed with competing with their own personal best. There’s a common belief that overachievers are often the ones who reach their goal and usually stand out above others in a particular setting.
Needless to say, after 10 years post secondary education later, I was a trained overachiever. Getting by wasn’t enough and unless you distinguish yourself from others within your group, you probably weren't getting anywhere fast. I was utterly disappointed after working around the clock and finding any kind of extra curricular activity that will gain me more points as an attractive candidate for entrance into a Master's program that most people in my cohort didn’t and they still ended up in the same place as me.
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Life in general has become so competitive whether you’re trying to land that dream job or get into school. You can’t just be average anymore but how far above expectations do you have to go to reach your goal? Maybe not as high as you might think according to research on overachieving.
Behavioral scientists, Ayelet Gneezy from the University of California and psychology professor Nicholas Epley from the University of Chicago were interested in looking at whether exceeding a promise garnered more appreciation than simply fulfilling it. Participants in the study were asked to purchase row 10 concert tickets online. The participants were then asked how they feel about receiving rows that were worse than, better than or as promised.
As expected, participants reacted negatively when they received the “worse off” option. However, the better than promised and as promised ticket recipients did not differ in feelings of positivity in reaction to the stimulus. Turns out, you don't get more appreciation from exceeding what's promised versus simply fulfilling it.
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“When companies, friends, or coworkers put forth the effort to keep a promise, their effort is likely to be rewarded but when they expend extra effort in order to exceed those promises, their effort appears likely to be overlooked”, according to researchers.
The lesson to learn here is that while we might have been conditioned to believe that extra credit will get you ahead, it doesn't quite work in the real world for most instances.
Source: Gneezy, A. & Epley, N. (2011). Worth Keeping but Not Exceeding: Asymmetric Consequences of Breaking versus Exceeding Promises. Social Psychology and Personality Science.
Amy Yew is a registered clinical counselor and relationship therapist. Tell us what you think and submit any questions you have to [email protected]. You can also tweet your thoughts on Twitter @AmyYew.
