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Field and online experiments on self-control

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Title: Field and online experiments on self-control
Authors: Burger, Nicholas1 nburger@rand.org, Charness, Gary2 charness@econ.ucsb.edu, Lynham, John3 lynham@hawaii.edu
Source: Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization. Mar2011, Vol. 77 Issue 3, p393-404. 12p.
Subjects: Psychological experiments, Self-control, Economics, Deadlines, Procrastination, Will, Operant behavior, Heterogeneity
Abstract: Abstract: Self-control problems have recently received considerable attention from economic theorists. We conducted two studies involving behavioral interventions expected to affect performance, providing some of the first experimental data in this area. In the first we investigate whether evenly spaced interim deadlines lead to higher completion rates for a lengthy task, where procrastination could be a factor. We found that these interim deadlines in fact led to lower completion rates in our set-up; we also found no evidence in the aggregate data (although there was considerable heterogeneity) of an increasing profile of the number of hours spent at the task over time, suggesting that the degree of present-bias in the participant population is not that high. In the second, we examine how willpower depletion affects behavior. Our second study isolates the effect of direct willpower depletion on the first day of a two-day period, thus exploring procrastination over a shorter time horizon. We found that depleting willpower did indeed lead to less work (and poorer quality) on the first day, but that this intervention surprisingly led to a higher completion rate overall. Our results help to inform ongoing efforts to understand and model self-control, willpower, and commitment mechanisms. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]
Copyright of Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
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  Data: Field and online experiments on self-control
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Burger%2C+Nicholas%22">Burger, Nicholas</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> nburger@rand.org</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Charness%2C+Gary%22">Charness, Gary</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo><i> charness@econ.ucsb.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lynham%2C+John%22">Lynham, John</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo><i> lynham@hawaii.edu</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Economic+Behavior+%26+Organization%22">Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization</searchLink>. Mar2011, Vol. 77 Issue 3, p393-404. 12p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychological+experiments%22">Psychological experiments</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Self-control%22">Self-control</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Economics%22">Economics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Deadlines%22">Deadlines</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Procrastination%22">Procrastination</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Will%22">Will</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Operant+behavior%22">Operant behavior</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Heterogeneity%22">Heterogeneity</searchLink>
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  Data: Abstract: Self-control problems have recently received considerable attention from economic theorists. We conducted two studies involving behavioral interventions expected to affect performance, providing some of the first experimental data in this area. In the first we investigate whether evenly spaced interim deadlines lead to higher completion rates for a lengthy task, where procrastination could be a factor. We found that these interim deadlines in fact led to lower completion rates in our set-up; we also found no evidence in the aggregate data (although there was considerable heterogeneity) of an increasing profile of the number of hours spent at the task over time, suggesting that the degree of present-bias in the participant population is not that high. In the second, we examine how willpower depletion affects behavior. Our second study isolates the effect of direct willpower depletion on the first day of a two-day period, thus exploring procrastination over a shorter time horizon. We found that depleting willpower did indeed lead to less work (and poorer quality) on the first day, but that this intervention surprisingly led to a higher completion rate overall. Our results help to inform ongoing efforts to understand and model self-control, willpower, and commitment mechanisms. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=egs&AN=59169308
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1016/j.jebo.2010.11.010
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 12
        StartPage: 393
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        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Self-control
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Economics
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Deadlines
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Procrastination
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      – SubjectFull: Will
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      – SubjectFull: Operant behavior
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      – SubjectFull: Heterogeneity
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      – TitleFull: Field and online experiments on self-control
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            NameFull: Charness, Gary
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              Text: Mar2011
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