Moniker Maladies – When names sabotage success

Leif D. Nelson, and Joseph P. Simmons

Psychological Science 18:1106-1112 (2007)

In five studies, we found that people like their names enough to unconsciously pursue consciously avoided outcomes that resemble their names. Baseball players avoid strikeouts, but players whose names begin with the strikeout-signifying letter K strikes out more than others (Study 1). All students want As, but students whose names begin with letter associated with poorer performance (C and D) achieve lower grade point averages (GPAs) than do students whose name begin with A and B (Study 2), especially if they like their initials (Study 3). Because lower GPAs lead to lesser graduate schools, students whose names begin with the letters C and D attend lower-ranked law schools than students whose names begin with A and B (Study 4). Finally, in an experimental study, we manipulated congruence between participant’s initials and the labels of prizes and found that participants solve fewer anagrams when a consolation prize shares their first initial than when it does not (Study 5). These findings provide striking evidence that unconsciously desiring negative name-resembling performance outcomes can insidiously undermine the more conscious pursuit of positive outcomes.