Take a bunch of kids at a summer camp. Place some delicious-looking treats (Coke, Twix bars, M&Ms, cookies) on a nearby table. Then tell the kids that they can’t have any. This makes you either a) mean or b) a researcher conducting a field experiment on productivity and willpower.
Presumably the authors of a recent paper titled “Temptation at Work,” presented at the American Economics Association meeting earlier this month, fit in the latter category. After exposing the kids to temptation, the researchers had them perform a paper-folding task, rewarding them for each correctly folded paper with one token redeemable for treats later in the day.
For younger kids, those under 8, being tempted decreased their productivity by nearly a third compared with a control group. Temptation was less of a factor for kids between 8 and 10, but there was still a slight drop-off. For kids over 10, the temptation actually made them more productive. The researchers guess that’s because, for older kids, who tend to be better at delaying gratification, having food nearby served as an inspiration.
The authors cite another study in which adults on diets were told to wait in a room. The researchers placed snacks near some of the subjects and farther away from others and told everyone to resist eating them. Then all of the subjects were told to solve some puzzles. The adults who were nearer the treats performed less well on the puzzles. The explanation is that the exertion of willpower diminishes one’s ability to perform subsequent tasks.
I was explaining this research to a friend who wondered whether the lesson was that denying yourself only harms productivity so it’s better to go ahead and pig out. That’s one way to take it. Or maybe it just reinforces the adage “out of sight, out of mind.” I’m not sure.
Results aside, the paper is worthwhile for this footnote alone: “One of us, the father of a son aged nine, has accumulated substantial empirical evidence that children of all ages enjoy tasty snacks.”
One Response to The Trouble With Temptation
darklogos - January 14, 2010 at 9:07 pm
The question was there a before tempation testing and a during tempation testing? The other thing I wonder is how does this reflect on people as whole. If the self is the focus of all things why not deny yourself comes to play. With that reasoning we have unstable markets and people ruled by debt they can never pay off. With people using science to remove restraint what type of people would we have in the end?