Implicit Preferences Inferred from Choice

57 Pages Posted: 2 Jan 2016

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Tom Cunningham

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Jonathan de Quidt

Stockholm University - Institute for International Economic Studies (IIES)

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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

Cunningham, Tom and de Quidt, Jonathan, Implicit Preferences Inferred from Choice (December 31, 2015). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2709914 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2709914

Tom Cunningham

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1601 S. California Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94304
United States

Jonathan De Quidt (Contact Author)

Stockholm University - Institute for International Economic Studies (IIES) ( email )

Stockholm, SE-10691
Sweden

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