Motivated Self-Control

Last registered on November 07, 2025
View Trial History

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Motivated Self-Control
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0012449
Initial registration date
November 09, 2023

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
November 17, 2023, 8:00 AM EST

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Last updated
November 07, 2025, 5:05 PM EST

Last updated is the most recent time when changes to the trial's registration were published.

Locations

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information

Primary Investigator

Name
Yingzhi Liang
Affiliation
University of Texas at Dallas
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Wei Huang
PI Affiliation
Chinese University of Hong Kong
Contact Investigator

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2023-11-15
End date
2026-02-28
Keywords
Behavior, Education
Additional Keywords
Present Bias, Self-control, Motivated Belief, Field Experiment
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
Building on the seminal work of Benabou and Tirole (2004), we study the motivated belief on present bias. In particular, it is beneficial from the current self’s perspective to maintain an optimistic belief about present bias, as this optimistic belief can motivate the future self to undertake challenging tasks. If the future self is fully aware of her present bias, she might be too discouraged to even make an attempt. We test this motivated belief on present bias using a field experiment in the classroom setting.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Huang, Wei and Yingzhi Liang. 2025. "Motivated Self-Control." AEA RCT Registry. November 07. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.12449-3.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2023-11-15
Intervention End Date
2026-02-28

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
The difference between ideal and actual completion of Challenge 1.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
This measures individuals’ perseverance (self-control) level. This is a proxy for present bias.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
The sign-up rate for Challenge 2.
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)
This measures individuals’ perceptions of their present bias.

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We study why people are overly optimistic about their self-control (present bias). Our hypothesis is that an optimistic view on present bias can motivate people to undertake challenging tasks.

We plan to test this hypothesis in a classroom setting. We aim to observe the following:
- Students who are confident in their self-control ability are more likely to start a challenging assignment.
- If students remember a previous failure in completing an assignment, they are less likely to start a challenging assignment.
- To avoid remembering a failure, students persevere more in order to maintain an optimistic belief in their self-control ability.

We plan to conduct this experiment in an introductory economics course. Students in this course are freshmen and sophomores in the business major at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomisation done in office by a computer based on student IDs.
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
No

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
5 classes
Sample size: planned number of observations
269 students
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
Our random assignment is at the individual level. We have 90 students in the "ex-ante perfect memory" treatment, 90 students in the "imperfect memory" treatment, and 89 students in the "ex-post perfect memory" treatment.
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials

There is information in this trial unavailable to the public. Use the button below to request access.

Request Information
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Survey and Behavioural Research Ethics Committee at The Chinese University of Hong Kong
IRB Approval Date
2024-08-22
IRB Approval Number
SBRE‐24‐0037
IRB Name
Survey and Behavioural Research Ethics Committee at The Chinese University of Hong Kong
IRB Approval Date
2023-11-09
IRB Approval Number
SBRE‐23‐0252
Analysis Plan