Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/283383 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
AWI Discussion Paper Series No. 735
Publisher: 
University of Heidelberg, Department of Economics, Heidelberg
Abstract: 
Information can trigger unpleasant emotions. As a result, individuals might be tempted to strategically ignore it. We experimentally investigate whether increasing perceived control can mitigate strategic ignorance. Participants from India were presented with a choice to receive information about the health risk associated with air pollution and were later asked to recall it. Perceived control leads to a substantial improvement in information recall. We find that optimists react most to perceived control, both with a reduction in information avoidance and an increase in information recall. This latter result is supported by a US sample. A theoretical framework rationalizes our findings.
Subjects: 
information avoidance
information recall
perceived control
motivated cognition
air pollution
JEL: 
D83
I15
Q53
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.