ICES Seminar in Experimental Economics and Game Theory
To Savor Consumption or To Confront Dread: The Hedonic Opportunity Cost of Attention
Friday, November 3, 2023 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EDT
Vernon Smith Hall (formerly Metropolitan Building), 5183
The ICES Seminar in Experimental Economics and Game Theory of the Fall 2023 semester will feature:
Claremont Graduate University
To Savor Consumption or To Confront Dread: The Hedonic Opportunity Cost of Attention
Abstract
Attention is a limited resource that can be used to enhance the experience of physical consumption, and it is a necessary input for processing information. This implies that consuming in the present creates an opportunity cost to processing information about the future, and vice versa. We test this in three experiments. We find that increasing consumption in the present decreases demand for information about the future and increases demand for future risk mitigation. The results show that there are preference interactions between information and physical consumption, with evidence consistent with attention as the mediator.
For more information about the Seminar Series, please visit the Seminar Schedule homepage.
