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The Hidden Cost of Personal Quantification
Abstract
From sleep and energy use to exercise and health, consumers have access to more information about their behavior than ever before. The appeal of personal quantification seems clear. By better understanding our behavior, we can make the necessary changes to live happier, healthier lives. But might the new tools people are using—quantifying life— rob them of some of the benefits of engaging in those activities? Six experiments demonstrate that while measurement increases how much of an activity people do (e.g., walk or read more), it can simultaneously reduce how much people enjoy those activities. This occurs because measurement can undermine intrinsic motivation. By drawing attention to output, measurement can make enjoyable activities feel more like work, which reduces their enjoyment. As a result, measurement can decrease continued engagement in the activity and subjective well-being. Even in the absence of explicit external incentives, measurement itself can thus have similar effects. The findings have implications for measurement’s use, as well as for the psychology of external incentives and intrinsic motivation.
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“While recent research has examined the general impact of behavioral tracking on different dimensions of consumer wellbeing (e.g., Etkin 2016; Karapanos et al. 2016), none has explored how highlighting specific patterns of past behavior through such technology actually affects subsequent behavior.”
From On or Off Track: How (Broken) Streaks Affect Consumer Decisions (2023) · cites this paper as Etkin 2016
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Metadata
- Authors
- Etkin, J.
- Affiliations
- Duke University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Etkin, Jordan
- ORCID
- Etkin, Jordan
- Venue
- Journal of Consumer Research
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2016-02-16
- Volume
- 42
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 967-984
- ISSN
- 0093-5301 (ISSN-L)
- 1537-5277
- OpenAlex
- W2333629723
- Cited by
- 274
- References
- 73
- Citations by year
- 2026: 30 · 2025: 24 · 2024: 19 · 2023: 31 · 2022: 28 · 2021: 33 · 2020: 39 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 20 · 2016: 5
- FWCI
- 35.88
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Consumer Research (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Innovative Human-Technology Interaction
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › General Decision Sciences › Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Motivation and Self-Concept in Sports
- Keywords
- measurement effects, intrinsic motivation, enjoyment, subjective well-being, activity engagement, extrinsic rewards, self-monitoring, health behavior, physical activity, sleep monitoring, consumer behavior
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