Soft commitment: a study on demand and compliance

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Abstract

This paper explores the demand for soft, self-imposed commitment, and subsequent compliance behaviour, using a framed field study in a higher education setting. We find a substantial soft commitment demand and a remarkably high failure to comply with the chosen commitment. Students are more likely to demand soft commitment if they expect the task to be more time-consuming and their relative performance to be lower. Failure to comply is associated with previous grade and personality traits. We find no evidence that soft commitment affects grades.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1140-1146
Number of pages7
JournalAPPLIED ECONOMICS LETTERS
Volume25
Issue number16
Early online date17 Nov 2017
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2018

Keywords

  • soft commitment; deadlines; procrastination; education

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