When Do Reminders Work? Memory Constraints and Medical Adherence
67 Pages Posted: 18 Oct 2022
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When Do Reminders Work? Memory Constraints and Medical Adherence
When Do Reminders Work? Memory Constraints and Medical Adherence
Date Written: 2022
Abstract
An extensive literature shows that reminders can successfully change behavior. Yet, there exists substantial unexplained heterogeneity in their effectiveness, both: (i) across studies, and (ii) across individuals within a particular study. This paper investigates when and why re-minders work. We develop a theoretical model that highlights three key mechanisms through which reminders may operate. To test the predictions of the model, we run a nationwide field experiment on medical adherence with over 4000 pregnant women in South Africa and document several key results. First, we find an extremely strong baseline demand for reminders. This demand increases after exposure to reminders, suggesting that individuals learn how valuable they are for freeing up memory resources. Second, stated adherence is increased by pure reminders and reminders containing a moral suasion component, but interestingly, reminders containing health information reduce adherence in our setting. Using a structural model, we show that heterogeneity in memory costs (or, equivalently, annoyance costs) is crucial for explaining the observed behavior.
Keywords: nudging, reminders, memory, attention, medication adherence, structural model
JEL Classification: D040, D910, C930, I120
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation