Relationships as Commitment Devices: Strategic Silence

Abstract

People who understand self-control problems can devise mechanisms to overcome them.In this paper, we discuss how relationships can help individuals overcome their selfcontrol problems by creating a tradeoff between desired present procrastination and undesired future procrastination.Threatening not to speak to a person who caves in can create such a tradeoff.The results depend on a limited memory assumption.We show how such interactions can explain strategic pretence, strategic ignorance, why a person would choose to punish himself after he caved in and why punishments need to increase if not adhered to immediately.strategy;bias;behavioural science