Implicit Preferences Inferred from Choice
57 Pages Posted: 2 Jan 2016
There are 2 versions of this paper
Implicit Preferences Inferred from Choice
Implicit Preferences Inferred from Choice
Date Written: December 31, 2015
Abstract
A longstanding distinction in psychology is between implicit and explicit preferences. Implicit preferences are ordinarily measured by observing non-choice data, such as response time. In this paper we introduce a method for inferring implicit preferences directly from choices. The necessary assumption is that implicit preferences toward an attribute (e.g. gender, race, sugar) have a stronger effect when the attribute is mixed with others, and so the decision becomes less “revealing” about one's preferences. We discuss reasons why preferences would have this property, advantages and disadvantages of this method relative to other measures of implicit preferences, and application to measuring implicit preferences in racial discrimination, self-control, and framing effects.
Keywords: Implicit discrimination, bias, judgment and decision making, choice-set effects
JEL Classification: D03, D83, J71
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation