Experimentation with Self-Serving Attribution Biases

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Hestermann, Nina; Le Yaouanq, Yves
• 署名单位: University of St Andrews; University of Munich; Centre for Economic Policy Research - UK
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL-MICROECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 1945-7669
• DOI: 10.1257/mic.20180326
• 发表日期: 2021
• 页码: 198-237
• 关键词: impostor phenomenon; gender-differences; overconfidence; MODEL; CONSEQUENCES; confidence; BEHAVIOR; optimism; FAILURE

摘要

We study an experimentation problem in a situation where the outcomes depend on the decision-maker's intrinsic ability and on an external variable. We analyze the mistakes made by individuals who hold inaccurate prior beliefs about their ability. Overconfident individuals take too much credit for their successes and excessively blame external factors if they fail. They are too easily dissatisfied with their environment, which leads them to experiment in variable environments and revise their self-confidence over time. In contrast, underconfident individuals might be trapped in low-quality environments and incur perpetual utility losses.