What to Blame? Self-Serving Attribution Bias with Multi-Dimensional Uncertainty

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Coutts, Alexander; Gerhards, Leonie; Murad, Zahra
• 署名单位: York University - Canada; University of London; King's College London; University of Portsmouth; Ministry of Education of Azerbaijan Republic; Azerbaijan State University of Economics (UNEC)
• 刊物名称: ECONOMIC JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0013-0133
• DOI: 10.1093/ej/ueae005
• 发表日期: 2024
• 页码: 1835-1874
• 关键词: gender-differences; INFORMATION; feedback; overconfidence; expectations; performance; confidence; JUDGMENT; DYNAMICS; utility

摘要

People often receive feedback influenced by external factors, yet little is known about how this affects self-serving biases. Our theoretical model explores how multi-dimensional uncertainty allows additional degrees of freedom for self-serving bias. In our primary experiment, feedback combining an individual's ability and a teammate's ability leads to biased belief updating. However, in a follow-up experiment with a random fundamental replacing the teammate, unbiased updating occurs. A validation experiment shows that belief distortion is greater when outcomes originate from human actions. Overall, our experiments highlight how multi-dimensional environments can enable self-serving biases.