Sampling experience reverses preferences for ambiguity
Ert,E. Trautmann,S.T.
Ert,E.
Trautmann,S.T.
Abstract
People often need to choose between alternatives with known probabilities (risk) and alternatives with unknown probabilities (ambiguity). Such decisions are characterized by attitudes towards ambiguity, which are distinct from risk attitudes. Most studies of ambiguity attitudes have focused on the static case of single choice, where decision makers typically prefer risky over ambiguous prospects. However, in many situations, decision makers may be able to sample outcomes of an ambiguous alternative, allowing for inferences about its probabilities. The current paper finds that such sampling experience reverses the pattern of ambiguity attitude observed in the static case. This effect can only partly be explained by the updating of probabilistic beliefs, suggesting a direct effect of sampling on attitudes toward ambiguity.
Description
Date
2014-08
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Keywords
ambiguity aversion, decisions from experience, sampling, probability estimates, C91 - Laboratory, Individual Behavior, D81 - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
Citation
Ert, E & Trautmann, S T 2014, 'Sampling experience reverses preferences for ambiguity', Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, vol. 49, no. 1, pp. 31-42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11166-014-9197-9
License
info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess