Holding the hunger games hostage at the gym: : an evaluation of temptation bundling

• Autores: Katherine L. Milkman, Julia A. Minson, Kevin G. M. Volpp
• Localización: Management science: journal of the Institute for operations research and the management sciences, ISSN 0025-1909, Vol. 60, Nº. 2, 2014, págs. 283-299
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • We introduce and evaluate the effectiveness of temptation bundling�a method for simultaneously tackling two types of self-control problems by harnessing consumption complementarities. We describe a field experiment measuring the impact of bundling instantly gratifying but guilt-inducing �want� experiences (enjoying page-turner audiobooks) with valuable �should� behaviors providing delayed rewards (exercising). We explore whether such bundles increase should behaviors and whether people would pay to create these restrictive bundles. Participants were randomly assigned to a full treatment condition with gym-only access to tempting audio novels, an intermediate treatment involving encouragement to restrict audiobook enjoyment to the gym, or a control condition. Initially, full and intermediate treatment participants visited the gym 51% and 29% more frequently, respectively, than control participants, but treatment effects declined over time (particularly following Thanksgiving). After the study, 61% of participants opted to pay to have gym-only access to iPods containing tempting audiobooks, suggesting demand for this commitment device.