I'll See it When I Believe it ? A Simple Model of Cognitive Consistency

46 Pages Posted: 14 Feb 2002

See all articles by Leeat Yariv

Leeat Yariv

Princeton University; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Date Written: February 2002

Abstract

Psychological experiments demonstrate that people exhibit a taste for consistency. Individuals are inclined to interpret new evidence in ways that confirm their pre-existing beliefs. They also tend to change their beliefs to enhance the desirability of their past actions. I present a model that incorporates these effects into an agent's utility function and allows me to characterize when: (i) agents become under- and over-confident, (ii) agents exhibit excess stickiness in action choices, (iii) agents prefer less accurate signals, and (iv) agents are willing to pay in order to forgo signals altogether. Applications to political campaigns and investment decisions are explored.

Keywords: Belief Utility, Cognitive Dissonance, Confirmatory Bias, Overconfidence, Selective Exposure

JEL Classification: C90, D72, D83, D91, M30

Suggested Citation

Yariv, Leeat, I'll See it When I Believe it ? A Simple Model of Cognitive Consistency (February 2002). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=300696

Leeat Yariv (Contact Author)

Princeton University ( email )

Princeton, NJ 08544-1021
United States

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
United Kingdom

National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

1050 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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