A One-Sentence Nudge Against Present Focus

Ilia Aliaev () and Hubert János Kiss ()
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Ilia Aliaev: Corvinus University of Budapest
Hubert János Kiss: ELTE Centre for Economic and Regional Studies; Corvinus University of Budapest

No 2512, KRTK-KTI WORKING PAPERS from Institute of Economics, Centre for Economic and Regional Studies

Abstract: We test whether a single, neutral sentence reduces present-focused intertemporal choices. In a pre-registered classroom experiment (N=210) at Corvinus University of Budapest, first-year students made eight incentivized choices between a smaller immediate amount and larger amounts in two weeks. The treatment added a one-line, non-directive prompt—“Think carefully about all the possibilities that money would provide you”—intended to shift attention from when money arrives to what it enables. Descriptively and in OLS regressions, treated participants switch to the later–larger option at lower premia (effect size ≈ 0.1–0.2 SD), as hypothesized, but effects are not statistically significant. We interpret this as evidence that the prompt was too weak at the stakes and two-week horizon studied.

Keywords: Experiment; Framing; Nudge; Present bias; Present focus (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C90 D01 D9 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp
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