Does Carrying a Physical Burden Promote Earlier Repayment?—A Exploratory Nudge Study Based on the Negative Discounting in Intertemporal Decision-Making

In the lending process, individuals must weigh the trade-off between early repayment and postponement. Encouraging early repayment aligns with the phenomenon of negative discounting in intertemporal decision-making. Negative discounting occurs because individuals experience anticipated dread when faced with future negative events. This study explored how "carrying a burden", highlighted through physical burden and weight-related emojis, can influence individuals' intertemporal repayment choices and the underlying mechanisms. Furthermore, a field experiment was conducted to test the nudge effect of "carrying a burden" on promoting earlier repayment. The results revealed that: (1) In laboratory experiments, participants in the burdened group tended to repay earlier, with the mediating effect of anticipated dread being partially significant. (2) In field experiment, the burdened group presented an increased number of on-time repayments. This study further validates the negative discounting phenomenon in intertemporal decision-making and provides a foundation for interventions and nudges to reduce repayment delays.