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Investigator Jin Xu Joshua Tasoff
Abstract This study tests the idea that current consumption is a substitute for information about aversive future events. That is, the more we enjoy the present the less willing we are to learn about negative future experiences. We also hypothesize that receiving information about aversive future events increases the demand for immediate pleasurable consumption. We propose to run two separate experiments focused on these two different by related questions, using ice cream as the immediate consumption and the chance of mildly painful electric shocks as the aversive future event. Please see attachment.
Trial End Date September 30, 2019 May 02, 2020
Last Published May 13, 2019 11:49 PM November 22, 2019 07:17 PM
Intervention Start Date January 14, 2019 June 01, 2019
Intervention End Date September 30, 2019 May 01, 2020
Experimental Design (Public) Experiment1 investigates the effect of current consumption on the demand for information about a potentially negative outcome. The information is a signal that is correlated with the outcome. The current consumption is ice-cream or no ice cream. Subjects are randomly assigned into one of two groups: the treatment group (receiving ice-cream) and the control group (no ice cream). Subjects are asked to choose whether to receive information about the possible shocks. Experiment2 investigates the effect of aversive salient information on consumption. Subjects are randomly assigned to the control group with no information or the treatment group with information. The procedures of these two groups are identical, except that the information group gets a clue about the possibility of future shocks. We then wish to observe how this salient information affects the demand for full information, ice cream, distractors, and a shock block. Please see pre-analysis plan for details. See attachment
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