When the Clock Strikes: A Multimethod Investigation of On-the-Hour Effects in Online Learning

Online learners often experience a lack of sustained motivation given the self-paced nature of online learning, resulting in inefficiency and a high dropout rate. Therefore, it is important to explore options that help users optimize their learning behavior and improve their learning performance. This study proposes that on-the-hour time points as external temporal cues can significantly influence online learning outcomes. Using a multimethod approach (i.e., archival data analysis, laboratory experiments, and framed field experiments), we show that (a) starting learning sessions at on-the-hour time points activates users’ implemental mindset, which supports them in building greater learning persistence and achieving better learning performance, and (b) social presence significantly attenuates the effects of on-the-hour time points in online learning. Our findings add to the literature on the design of online learning systems by clarifying the effects of temporal cues in user-system interactions, which provides implications for notification and reminder strategies that can be implemented to further enhance the effectiveness of online learning.

History: Juan Feng, Senior Editor; David (Jingjun) Xu, Associate Editor.

Funding: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grants 72201038 and 72293561], the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications Basic Scientific Research Program [Grant 2022RC21], the Tsinghua University Initiative Scientific Research Program [Grant 2019THZWYX08], the Research Center for Interactive Technology Industry of Tsinghua University [Grant RCITI2022T002], and the New Liberal Arts Program of the Ministry of Education in China [Grant 2021090003].

Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2023.1234.