Choice and procrastination
Open accessAbstract
Recent models of procrastination due to self-control problems assume that a procrastinator considers just one option and is unaware of her self-control problems. We develop a model where a person chooses from a menu of options and is partially aware of her self-control problems. This menu model replicates earlier results and generates new ones. A person might forgo completing an attractive option because she plans to complete a more attractive but never-to-be-completed option. Hence, providing a nonprocrastinator additional options can induce procrastination, and a person may procrastinate worse pursuing important goals than unimportant ones.
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Individuals usually choose a small benefit in the short term over a larger benefit in the longer term.
“If there is choice, individuals usually choose a small benefit in the short term over a larger benefit in the longer term.”
From The privacy paradox – investigating discrepancies between expressed privacy concerns and actual online behavior – a systematic literature review (2017) · cites this paper as O'Donoghue and Rabin, 2001
The Introduction says present-biased people tend to pursue immediate gratification and that additional options can induce procrastination. It does not establish that, whenever there is a choice, individuals usually select a smaller short-term benefit over a larger long-term one; the modeled effect depends on the options and their costs. (LLM, conf=0.85)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIndividuals encounter self-control problems due to immediate gratifications (present bias) which leads to behavior that may backfire in the long run.
“Quite often, individuals encounter self-control problems due to immediate gratifications (present bias) which leads to behavior that may backfire in the long run.”
From The privacy paradox – investigating discrepancies between expressed privacy concerns and actual online behavior – a systematic literature review (2017) · cites this paper as O'Donoghue and Rabin, 2001
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Laibson, D. (1997) · The Quarterly Journal of Economics · doi:10.1162/003355397555253 · Cited by 6,122 · see citing works
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“Immediate Gratifications (O’Donoghue and Rabin, 2001) Quite often, individuals encounter self-control problems due to immediate gratifications (present bias) which leads to behavior that may backfire in the long run.”
BackgroundAntecedents to the adoption of augmented reality smart glasses: A closer look at privacy risks
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Reuben, E., Sapienza, P., & Zingales, L. (2015) · Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics · doi:10.1016/j.socec.2015.07.005 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Procrastination in the Field: Evidence from Tax Filing
Martinez, S.-K., Meier, S., & Sprenger, C. (2023) · Journal of the European Economic Association · doi:10.1093/jeea/jvac067 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Temporal discounting predicts procrastination in the real world
Zhang, P. Y., & Ma, W. J. (2024) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-024-65110-4 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
- Authors
- O'Donoghue, T., & Rabin, M.
- Affiliations
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
- Venue
- The Quarterly Journal of Economics
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2001-02-01
- Volume
- 116
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 121-160
- ISSN
- 0033-5533 (ISSN-L)
- 1531-4650
- OpenAlex
- W2148111566
- Cited by
- 944
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 17 · 2025: 44 · 2024: 51 · 2023: 48 · 2022: 37 · 2021: 44 · 2020: 37 · 2019: 60 · 2018: 48 · 2017: 39 · 2016: 52 · 2015: 50 · 2014: 48 · 2013: 42 · 2012: 43
- FWCI
- 12.99
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.escholarship.org
- Locations
- The Quarterly Journal of Economics (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- SSRN Electronic Journal (submittedVersion)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (9709485)
- Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University
- Center for Advanced Study, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › General Decision Sciences › Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies
- Keywords
- procrastination, self-control, choice, goal importance, decision-making
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