Are bygones bygones?
The paper reports an experiment which tests the principle of separability, i.e. that behaviour in a dynamic choice problem is independent of history and of unreachable eventualities. Although this is a standard principle of decision theory, it can be questioned on grounds suggested by non-expected utility models of choice under risk and by the psychology of affective influences on risk-taking. Our experimental design, which provides between-subjects tests of separability using three treatments in which the history preceding a decision is manipulated, is inspired by these concerns. But, we find no significant evidence of violation of separability.
Year of publication: |
2005-11
|
---|---|
Authors: | Cubitt, Robin ; Ruiz-Martos, Maria ; Starmer, Chris |
Institutions: | Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics (CeDEx), School of Economics |
Subject: | Separability | history-independence | non-expected utility | risk and affect |
Saved in:
freely available