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I Promise to Work Hard: The Impact of a Non-Binding Commitment Pledge on Academic Performance

Author

Listed:
  • Nicholas A. Wright

    (Department of Economics, Florida International University)

  • Puneet Arora

    (Management Development Institute, Gurgaon, India)

  • Jesse Wright

    (Florida Gulf Coast University)

Abstract

Students often start a course with high expectations and an ambitious plan of action. Some instructors use goal-inducing non-binding commitment pledges to nudge students to follow through on their intended course of action. Using a field experiment, we asked treated students to set a goal grade, identify the actions they will take to achieve it, and sign a commitment pledge to work towards this grade. We find that while treated students pledged a greater time commitment and targeted a higher grade, their overall test scores decrease by 0.23 standard deviations and they were 15 percentage points less likely to pass the course.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicholas A. Wright & Puneet Arora & Jesse Wright, 2024. "I Promise to Work Hard: The Impact of a Non-Binding Commitment Pledge on Academic Performance," Working Papers 2411, Florida International University, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:fiu:wpaper:2411
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    File URL: https://economics.fiu.edu/research/working-papers/2024/2411.pdf
    File Function: First version, 2024
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Commitment Pledge; Goal-setting; Academic Performance; Overconfidence; Grade Expectations;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • A2 - General Economics and Teaching - - Economic Education and Teaching of Economics
    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • D8 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty
    • I2 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education

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