Knowledge@Wharton: Why Top Performers Quit When the Going Gets Tough

“In general, there are a lot of positive benefits to having high expectations. When we set high expectations, people generally perform at higher levels. But in competitions, when you’re the favorite and you begin to encounter some difficulty, that’s more threatening than if you’re the underdog. What we found essentially is this: When the going gets tough, favorites are more likely to quit.” Read more at Knowledge@Wharton