Glossary
Temptation bundling
What is temptation bundling?
Temptation bundling pairs something you enjoy now with something you tend to put off. In its restrictive form, you save the enjoyable activity for the time when you do the other activity: your favorite audiobook is available only at the gym.
The original experiment
Milkman, Minson, and Volpp's 2014 study, Holding the Hunger Games Hostage at the Gym, tested access to engaging audiobooks during gym visits. It compared restricted access, encouragement to self-restrict, and a control condition. Restricted access initially increased gym attendance, but the treatment effects declined over time.
The review of Katy Milkman’s How to Change follows the gym result into later research and examines how long the reported benefit lasted.
Examples
Watching a favorite show only while folding laundry, or saving an audiobook for a routine household task, illustrates the idea. The activities need to fit together. Entertainment that makes laundry more appealing could interfere with work that requires close attention.
Why it matters
An enjoyable pairing can make a task more attractive in the moment. But choosing a behavior that suits the person still comes first. Temptation bundling does not make every unsuitable activity a good fit, and an initial increase in attendance is not proof of a lasting habit.