From Distraction to Dedication: Commitment and Incentives Against Phone Use in the Classroom

Billur Aksoy, Lester Lusher and Scott Carrell

No 33703, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: Phone usage in the classroom has been linked to worsened academic outcomes. We present findings from a field experiment conducted at a large public university in partnership with an app marketed as a soft commitment device that provides incentives to reduce phone use in the classroom. We find that app usage led to improvements in classroom focus, attendance, and overall academic satisfaction. Analysis of time spent outside the classroom suggests a potential substitution effect: students using the app allocated less time to study, particularly on campus. Overall, though statistically insignificant, we find improvements in transcript grades associated with app usage.

JEL-codes: I21 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-04
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Published as Billur Aksoy & Lester Lusher & Scott Carrell, 2025. "From distraction to dedication: Commitment and incentives against phone use in the classroom," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, vol 236.

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