Friends with Health Benefits: A Field Experiment

Rachel Gershon (), Cynthia Cryder () and Katherine Milkman
Additional contact information
Rachel Gershon: Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720
Cynthia Cryder: Olin Business School, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130

Management Science, 2025, vol. 71, issue 1, 584-594

Abstract: When pursuing goals, we commonly choose between going it alone versus teaming up together. In a field experiment ( n = 774), we tested the benefits of rewarding individual versus tandem goal pursuit. In a standard-reward condition, we experimentally offered gym members an individual cash reward each day they visited the gym for four weeks. Participants in a tandem-reward condition could earn the same reward but only if they surmounted an extra logistical hurdle: they had to visit the gym with a friend. Although this additional requirement made it more difficult for participants in the tandem-reward condition to earn equivalent incentives, participants with this extra hurdle visited the gym about 35% more frequently than those earning a standard reward. A follow-up survey suggests that tandem rewards provide nonmonetary incentives that change behavior, including increased accountability and enjoyment. Our findings illustrate the advantages of making desired behaviors social to promote follow-through.

Keywords: field experiment; behavior change; goals; incentives; social engagement; accountability; exercise (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2022.01401 (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:71:y:2025:i:1:p:584-594

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Management Science from INFORMS Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Asher ().