Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don't Have All the Facts · chapter 6 · id thinking-in-bets-c6-05-ulysses-contracts----precommit

“Ulysses contracts -- precommitment devices where you bind your future self to a course of action -- are an effective strategy against temporal discounting and weakness of will.”

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Wikipedia, Commitment devicesource alive

Commitment devices are voluntary self-imposed constraints designed to help individuals follow through on intentions they might otherwise abandon due to weakness of will or time-inconsistent preferences.

Wikipedia, Precommitmentsource alive

Jon Elster developed precommitment as a general strategy of rationality in 'Ulysses and the Sirens' (1979). Thomas Schelling (1956) argued a negotiator could gain advantage by visibly restricting future choices.

Psychology For, 'Ulysses Contract: What It Is and Examples'source alive

Experimental research on commitment contracts has produced meaningful increases in savings in developing-country field trials, but evidence for sustained effects on health behaviors like exercise and smoking cessation is more limited.

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