Commitment Devices — the research, and how to use it at events

The research, plainly

Bryan, Karlan, and Nelson studied arrangements where people voluntarily bind their future selves — deposits forfeited on failure, public deadlines, locked savings. Adding a real cost to backing out reliably increases follow-through.

The receipt: Bryan, Karlan & Nelson, 2010

What it means for events

Give attendees ways to make quitting expensive. The deposit refunded at the follow-up meeting, the public deadline, the pledge with a witness — voluntary stakes convert 'I intend to' into 'I've arranged to.'

Where to run it

Program design

Deposit-backed challenges: the buy-in returns at the Day-30 check-in. Skin in the game, gently applied.

Peer structures

Pairs who exchange plans and check-in dates have created social stakes — breaking the promise now costs a relationship.

Executive commitments

The initiative announced on stage to peers has a breakage cost no private memo carries. Stage time is a commitment device.

Seen in the wild

Karlan didn't just study the mechanism — he co-founded stickK, a platform where people stake real money on their own goals (often payable to causes they oppose on failure). The academic built the product because the effect was that reliable.

Related concepts

Commitment & ConsistencyOnce someone says it out loud — in writing, in public, by choice — they work hard to stay true to it.Sunk CostPeople stick with things they have already paid for — time, money, or effort.Implementation Intentions'I'll do it' fails. 'I'll do it Tuesday at 9, at my desk' works.

All 115 concepts in the Library →

Now use it

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