The Impact of Self-Chosen Goals and Commitment on Worker Performance

Last registered on March 19, 2024
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
The Impact of Self-Chosen Goals and Commitment on Worker Performance
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0013208
Initial registration date
March 17, 2024

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
March 19, 2024, 5:23 PM EDT

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

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Primary Investigator

Name
Yuxin Su
Affiliation
SKEMA Business School
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Other Primary Investigator(s)

Additional Trial Information

Status
On going
Start date
2023-12-01
End date
2024-12-31
Keywords
Behavior, Firms & Productivity
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
This paper investigates the relationship between self-chosen goals, commitment, and worker performance using data collected from online workers engaged in real effort tasks. Our findings show that high-ability workers respond positively to self-chosen goals, while low-ability workers exhibit a negative response. Furthermore, when commitment is introduced alongside self-chosen goals, it has a positive direct impact on the performance of low-ability workers and also indirectly influences performance through goal setting. However, for high-ability workers, commitment has a positive direct impact but a negative indirect impact through goal setting. Alternatively, our study suggests that the combination of prosocial information and commitment yields positive effects on goal setting. Specifically, we find that providing prosocial information enables participants to set challenging but attainable goals, addressing the limitations observed in the commitment-only treatment.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Su, Yuxin. 2024. "The Impact of Self-Chosen Goals and Commitment on Worker Performance." AEA RCT Registry. March 19. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.13208-1.0
Sponsors & Partners
Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
This paper investigates the relationship between self-chosen goals, commitment, and worker performance using data collected from online workers engaged in real effort tasks.
Intervention Start Date
2024-01-01
Intervention End Date
2024-12-31

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
workers' performance (how many real effort tasks that they completed), workers' goal-setting
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
Participants were randomly assigned to one of four groups: CONTROL (control group), GOAL (treatment group 1), COMMIT group
(treatment group 2), and PROSOCIAL group (treatment group 3). All groups received the same task description text during recruitment to minimize selection bias. In the CONTROL group, workers were not explicitly asked to set goals and did not receive any incentives. In the GOAL group, workers were required to set goals, but did not receive incentives. In the Commitment group (COMMIT), workers were required to set goals and clicked to commit to try their best to achieve their goals. In the PROSOCIAL group, workers were required to set goals and received prosocial incentives as commitment.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
by computer
Randomization Unit
Individual
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
600 participants
Sample size: planned number of observations
600 participants
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
control: 150,
treatment1: 150,
treatment2: 150,
treatment3: 150
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Claremont Graduate University
IRB Approval Date
2019-12-02
IRB Approval Number
3639
Analysis Plan