Friends with Health Benefits: A Field Experiment

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Gershon, Rachel; Cryder, Cynthia; Milkman, Katherine L.
• 署名单位: University of California System; University of California Berkeley; Washington University (WUSTL); University of Pennsylvania
• 刊物名称: MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0025-1909
• DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2022.01401
• 发表日期: 2025
• 关键词: field experiment; Behavior change; goals; incentives; social engagement; ACCOUNTABILITY; exercise

摘要

When pursuing goals, we commonly choose between going it alone versus teaming up together. In a field experiment (n = 774), we tested the benefits of rewarding individual versus tandem goal pursuit. In a standard-reward condition, we experimentally offered gym members an individual cash reward each day they visited the gym for four weeks. Participants in a tandem-reward condition could earn the same reward but only if they surmounted an extra logistical hurdle: they had to visit the gym with a friend. Although this additional requirement made it more difficult for participants in the tandem-reward condition to earn equivalent incentives, participants with this extra hurdle visited the gym about 35% more frequently than those earning a standard reward. A follow-up survey suggests that tandem rewards provide nonmonetary incentives that change behavior, including increased accountability and enjoyment. Our findings illustrate the advantages of making desired behaviors social to promote follow-through.