Should Individuals Choose Their Own Incentives? Evidence from a Mindfulness Meditation Intervention

Andrej Woerner (), Giorgia Romagnoli (), Birgit M. Probst (), Nina Bartmann (), Jonathan N. Cloughesy () and Jan Willem Lindemans ()
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Andrej Woerner: Ludwig Maximlian University of Munich, 80539 München, Germany
Giorgia Romagnoli: CREED, University of Amsterdam, 1012 WP Amsterdam, Netherlands
Birgit M. Probst: Technical University of Munich, 80333 München, Germany
Nina Bartmann: Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708
Jonathan N. Cloughesy: Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708; and University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90007
Jan Willem Lindemans: Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27708; and Fabulous, 75008 Paris, France

Management Science, 2025, vol. 71, issue 8, 7056-7070

Abstract: Traditionally, incentives to promote behavioral change are assigned rather than chosen. In this paper, we theoretically and empirically investigate the alternative approach of letting people choose their own incentives from a menu of increasingly challenging and rewarding options. When individuals are heterogeneous and have private information about their costs and benefits, we theoretically show that leaving them the choice of incentives can improve both adherence and welfare. We test the theoretical predictions in a field experiment based on daily meditation sessions. We randomly assign some participants to one of two incentive schemes and allow others to choose between the two schemes. As predicted, participants sort into schemes in (partial) agreement with the objectives of the policymaker. However, in contrast to our prediction, participants who could choose complete significantly fewer sessions than participants that were randomly assigned. Because the results are not driven by poor selection, we infer that letting people choose between incentive schemes may bring in psychological effects that discourage adherence.

Keywords: monetary incentives; dynamic incentives; field experiment; mental health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:71:y:2025:i:8:p:7056-7070

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