Examining External Incentive Programs for Promoting Students' Morning Habits Through a Policy Lens

In the field of higher education management research, the personal development of college students has garnered significant attention. Establishing a beneficial morning routine is of great importance as it enables students to capitalize on the productive morning hours for in-depth learning. Moreover, maintaining consistent morning habits contributes to the regulation of the circadian rhythm, which is crucial for safeguarding the physical and mental well-being of college students. Despite the benefits of early rising, fostering an early rising habit among college students presents many challenges in practice. These challenges include students' relatively low self-regulation skills and the pervasive influence of electronic devices, which often exacerbate late-night activities and subsequent late-waking, making it difficult for students to develop an early rising routine. This study aims to explore the potential of external incentives as a policy tool to address the issue of insufficient intrinsic motivation during the process of habit formation. The research evaluates the effectiveness of a systematically designed monetary incentive scheme in promoting students' morning routines. The study places particular emphasis on three key incentive design parameters: reward timing, reward progression mechanisms, and reward certainty. A four-week controlled experiment was conducted, involving 165 participants with a mean age of 20.22 ± 0.76 years. The findings of the study are three-fold. Firstly, immediate rewards are more effective than delayed rewards in stimulating initial participation in the morning routine building process. Secondly, an escalating reward plan, which gradually increases the reward magnitude as students make progress, demonstrates superior long-term motivational effects compared to a fixed incentive structure. Thirdly, when comparing reward amounts, rewards with uncertain amounts generate greater sustained engagement over time compared to those with certain amounts. These findings contribute to the academic discourse on the interplay between incentive design parameters and behavioral policies. They offer practical and evidence-based insights for university administrators, enabling them to formulate more effective policy interventions. By understanding how different incentive structures influence student behavior, administrators can design targeted programs that enhance habit adherence and ultimately support students' personal development.