Narratives and Valuations

• 成果类型: Article; Early Access
• 署名作者: Morag, Dor; Loewenstein, George
• 署名单位: Pennsylvania Commonwealth System of Higher Education (PCSHE); University of Pittsburgh; Carnegie Mellon University
• 刊物名称: MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0025-1909
• DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2023.01076
• 发表日期: 2024
• 关键词: decision making; narratives; VALUATIONS; willingness to accept; Experimental

摘要

Although the significance of narrative thinking has been increasingly recognized by social scientists, very little empirical research has documented its consequences for economically significant outcomes. The current paper addresses this gap in one important domain: valuations. In three experiments, participants were given the opportunity to sell an item they owned (mug in Study 1, hat in Studies 2 and 3) using an incentivecompatible procedure (multiple price list). Prior to making selling decisions, participants were randomly assigned to either a narrative treatment, in which they were asked to tell the story of their item, or a list treatment, in which they were asked to list the characteristics of their item. The narrative treatment led to significantly higher selling prices and increased rates of participants refusing all offered prices. We further explore potential mechanisms, and the impact of different types of narratives, by analyzing self-reported classifications of, and employing natural language processing techniques on, participants' narratives.