Clumped or Piecewise? Evidence on Preferences for Information

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Zimmermann, Florian
• 署名单位: University of Zurich
• 刊物名称: MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0025-1909
• DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2013.1884
• 发表日期: 2015
• 页码: 740-753
• 关键词: reference-dependent preferences; loss aversion; Information preferences; news utility; Anticipatory emotions; experiment

摘要

In this paper we examine individuals' attitudes toward the timing of information. We test a theoretical prediction that people prefer to get information clumped together rather than piecewise. We conduct a controlled lab experiment where subjects participate in a lottery and can choose between different resolutions of uncertainty (clumped or piecewise) and analyze which kind of resolution is preferred. Two additional treatments allow us to get a quantitative measure of subjects' preferences over different information structures. Our data provide little support for a systematic aversion to piecewise information on the aggregate level. In additional treatment conditions, we demonstrate the robustness of our findings and explore potential explanations.