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Pessimism and Overcommitment: An Online Experiment with Tempting YouTube Content

Author

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  • Claes Ek
  • Margaret Samahita

Abstract

This paper explores the possibility that demand for costly commitment may prove unnecessary and thus excessive. In an online experiment, subjects face a tedious productivity task where tempting YouTube videos invite procrastination. Subjects can pay for a commitment device that removes the videos with some probability less than one, allowing us to compare their willingness to pay with realized material and psychological costs of temptation. A significant share of subjects overestimate their commitment demand, being overly pessimistic about their performance when tempted. However, the total realized ex-post disutility from undercommitment is greater than that from overcommitment.

Suggested Citation

  • Claes Ek & Margaret Samahita, 2022. "Pessimism and Overcommitment: An Online Experiment with Tempting YouTube Content," Working Papers 202203, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucn:wpaper:202203
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10197/12776
    File Function: First version, 2022
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    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D03 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Behavioral Microeconomics: Underlying Principles
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making

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