ICES Seminar in Experimental Economics and Game Theory
The Attention-Information Tradeoff
Friday, March 15, 2024 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 Spring 2024 semester will feature:
University of California, San Diego
The Attention-Information Tradeoff
Abstract
In online settings, there is strong competition to capture individuals’ attention. This paper studies the consequences of the incentive to capture online attention on information transmission and attention allocation. We recruit professionals to write about scientific findings with incentives to inform or to grab attention. In large-scale online experiments, we measure the impact of these incentives on knowledge and attention. The incentive to grab attention significantly increases mistakes among readers. Despite increased attention, knowledge is lower and biased beliefs arise, not through what is written, but rather what is missing, documenting a new channel for how misperceptions can arise.
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