Deconstruction and reconstruction of an anomaly

0382752 - NHÚ 2013 RIV US eng J - Journal Article
Engelmann, Dirk - Strobel, M.
Deconstruction and reconstruction of an anomaly.
Games and Economic Behavior. Roč. 76, č. 2 (2012), s. 678-689. ISSN 0899-8256. E-ISSN 1090-2473
Institutional support: RVO:67985998
Keywords : anomalies * false consensus * information processing
Subject RIV: AH - Economics
Impact factor: 1.000, year: 2012

We present a striking example of the deconstruction and reconstruction of an anomaly. In line with previous experiments we show in a one-shot setting that the allegedly robust false consensus effect disappears if representative information is readily available. But the effect reappears if a small cognitive effort is required to retrieve the information. Most subjects apparently ignore valuable information if it is not handed to them on a silver platter. We conclude that the relevance of the false consensus effect depends on the difficulty of retrieving the information and that the underlying mechanism is an information processing deficiency rather than egocentricity. Moreover, we discuss the potential relevance of our findings for other well-known effects like the winner’s curse and overconfidence.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0212880