Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/205332 
Year of Publication: 
2019
Series/Report no.: 
Tinbergen Institute Discussion Paper No. TI 2019-042/I
Publisher: 
Tinbergen Institute, Amsterdam and Rotterdam
Abstract: 
It is widely hypothesized that anxiety and worry about an uncertain future lead to the adoption of comforting beliefs or "wishful thinking". However, there is little direct causal evidence for this effect. In our experiment, participants perform a visual pattern recognition task where some patterns may result in the delivery of an electric shock, a proven way of inducing anxiety. Participants engage in significant wishful thinking, as they are less likely to correctly identify patterns that they know may lead to a shock. Greater ambiguity of the pattern facilitates wishful thinking. Raising incentives for accuracy does not significantly decrease it.
Subjects: 
confidence
beliefs
anticipatory utility
anxiety
motivated cognition
JEL: 
D83
C91
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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