Getting paid the moment you finish helped people start a week-long task sooner
Who it’s about: Students, Young adults
- Mixed
People paid the moment they finished started a week-long task about half a day sooner, but most finished no sooner.
- Rule: Reward yourself right aftertested
- Action: Do the task you've been avoidingused
- Rule: Get a reward or payment for doing itused
Trial of 611 students, staff and alumni of a US university · vs the same payment the day after the deadline · behaviour was recorded · ⚠ not yet checked by other scientists; unclear how groups were picked; summary claims more than the results show; many people dropped out
- Mixed
Of those who finished, only people who often put things off finished sooner when paid right away.
- Rule: Reward yourself right aftertested
- Action: Do the task you've been avoidingused
- Rule: Get a reward or payment for doing itused
Trial of 611 students, staff and alumni of a US university · vs the same payment the day after the deadline · behaviour was recorded · ⚠ not yet checked by other scientists; unclear how groups were picked; summary claims more than the results show; many people dropped out
The study
Who took part
611 students, staff and former students of New York University, about 23 years old on average. Most were women.
What they did
Everyone had seven days to finish a three-hour online reading task for up to $36. One group was paid within seconds of finishing. The other group was paid the day after the deadline.
What happened
People paid right away started about half a day sooner on average, around day 2.3 against day 2.8. About 60 in 100 finished in both groups, and most people did not finish sooner. Only people who rated themselves as putting things off a lot finished sooner when paid right away. That was about half of everyone. Many people never started or did not finish. The paper does not say how people were put into groups. The authors' claim that everyone started sooner rests on one test.
Source
Immediate reward reduces procrastination in a naturalistic multi-day task (2026)
DOI: 10.31234/osf.io/p27dh_v1 (opens in a new tab)Tools in this study
Action3
Do the task you've been avoidingExposure: deliberately start an avoided task while the discomfort is there.
Rule · how5
Get a reward or payment for doing itIncentives, prizes, lotteries or points for doing it.
