The situation arises when someone makes a commitment to take an action in the future. If the incentive to keep the commitment is the same as the incentive to make the commitment, then the example is time consistent. However, if the incentive to keep the commitment is significantly less than the incentive to make the commitment, then we say that the example is time-inconsistent or that there is a time-consistency problem.
This study is part of an emerging recognition in psychology that secondary tasks aren't always a distraction from primary tasks, but can sometimes actually be beneficial.
At BookPeople in Austin, Tex., the rate of theft has increased to approximately one book per hour. I asked Steve Bercu, BookPeople’s owner, what the most frequently stolen title was. “The Bible,” he said, without pausing.