MEMORY, ATTENTION, AND CHOICE

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Bordalo, Pedro; Gennaioli, Nicola; Shleifer, Andrei
• 署名单位: University of Oxford; Bocconi University; Harvard University
• 刊物名称: QUARTERLY JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0033-5533
• DOI: 10.1093/qje/qjaa007
• 发表日期: 2020
• 页码: 1399-1442
• 关键词: projection bias; prospect-theory; price; contrast; SALIENCE; context; experiences; decisions; FUTURE; MODEL

摘要

Building on a textbook description of associative memory (Kahana 2012), we present a model of choice in which a choice option cues recall of similar past experiences. Memory shapes valuation and decisions in two ways. First, recalled experiences form a norm, which serves as an initial anchor for valuation. Second, salient quality and price surprises relative to the norm lead to large adjustments in valuation. The model unifies many well-documented choice puzzles, including the attribution and projection biases, inattention to hidden attributes, background contrast effects, and context-dependent willingness to pay. Unifying these puzzles on the basis of selective memory and attention to surprise yields multiple new predictions.