We perform an incentivized experiment designed to assess the accuracy of beliefs about characteristics and decisions … test two main hypotheses: (i) whether for items not perfectly observable, individuals suffer of some type of bias in these … beliefs; (ii) whether this bias would disappear for weight and height, when the information is perfectly available. We find a …

determinants of the observed gradual downgrading of expert opinion on complicated issues and the decreasing trust in science. We … with (a) individual biases, such as confirmation bias or assimilation bias, and (b) people's tendency to align their … weight on expert opinion. Networks make fundamental biases be enhanced by peer-induced amplification factors, a finding …

We perform an experiment designed to assess the accuracy of beliefs about distributions. The beliefs relate to behavior … (mobile phone purchasing decisions, hypothetical restaurant choices), attitudes (happiness, politics) and observable … characteristics (height, weight) and are typically formed through real world experiences. We nd a powerful and ubiquitous bias in …

a minority of voters are biased, but harmful when a majority is biased. In theory, information on the success of policy … choices elsewhere de-biases voters and alleviates the inefficiency. However, in the experiment, providing social information … on success is ineffective and does not de-bias voters. …