Do People Stand by their Commitments? Evidence from Classroom Experiments

In this paper we test the fulfillment of commitments in terms of effort made by students under an incentive contract but without strategic interactions. Accordingly it is an experimental contribution to decision theory. The experiments took place in classrooms during class time. Students have to announce a level and realize a level of effort virtually. The two levels of effort can differ and the game is made in such a way that students have interest not the stand by their commitments that to make their two levels of effort different. The results show however that an important percentage of students respect their commitment and that a freezing effect can be identified.