Preference for a particular future reward over another one may reverse as time passes - a behavior defined as dynamic or time-inconsistency. The general understanding is that time-inconsistency refers to the cases where a larger-later reward is preferred over a smaller-sooner one at the outset,...

Hierarchy plays an integral role in organizational structure and practices, as well as in society more generally. In Confucian-influenced cultures, and especially in South Korea, social hierarchies are often based on age, and age dynamics can therefore influence social decision-making and...

Standard economic theory holds that beliefs about an alternative’s value are independent of the probability of it being in the choice set. Using data from two lab experiments (conducted in the US and India) and one field experiment (conducted in the US), I find consistent evidence that agents...

In a real effort task experiment, we study the (dis)honesty of undergraduate students in Bangladesh. Consistent with earlier studies, when they self-report their performance, a significant fraction of students cheats to varying degrees. We find that an individual’s own ability, as well as...

Although peer information can motivate behavior in a cost-effective way, it can also cause an oppositional reaction or boomerang effect that leads to poorer performance. This project uses an experimental design in a controlled laboratory setting to measure if the de-motivational effect of peer...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) increasingly becomes an indispensable advisor. New ethical concerns arise if AI persuades people to behave dishonestly. In an experiment, we study how AI advice (generated by a Natural-Language-processing algorithm) affects (dis)honesty, compare it to equivalent...

Intuitive decision making is a topic that has generated contrasting views due to the perceived trade-off between casting speedily AND accurate judgments. While cognitive psychologists have provided evidence suggesting that human intuition might lead to erroneous decisions, fast and frugal...

Artificial Intelligence (AI) increasingly becomes an indispensable advisor. New ethical concerns arise if AI persuades people to behave dishonestly. In an experiment, we study how AI advice (generated by a Natural-Language-processing algorithm) affects (dis)honesty, compare it to equivalent...

Traditionally, economic models have attributed procrastination to present bias. However, procrastination may also arise when individuals derive anticipatory utility from holding motivated, overly optimistic beliefs about the workload they need to complete. This study provides a rigorous...

Procrastination is often attributed to time-inconsistent preferences but may also arise when individuals derive anticipatory utility from holding optimistic beliefs about their future effort costs. This study provides a rigorous empirical test for this notion of ‘motivated procrastination’....