Does Self-Control Depletion Affect Risk Attitudes?

Holger Gerhardt, Hannah Schildberg-Hörisch () and Jana Willrodt ()
Additional contact information
Hannah Schildberg-Hörisch: Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods
Jana Willrodt: Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE)
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Hannah Schildberg-Hoerisch ()

No 9613, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: A core prediction of recent "dual-self" models is that a person's risk attitudes depend on her current level of self-control. While these models have received a lot of attention, empirical studies tailored to testing their core prediction are lacking. Using two prominent models, we derive precise hypotheses for choices between risky monetary payoffs in a state of low self-control, compared to regular self-control; in particular, lower levels of self-control should induce stronger risk aversion for stakes within a particular range. We test the hypotheses in a lab experiment with a large number of subjects (N = 308), using a well-established self-control depletion task and measuring risk attitudes via finely graduated choice lists. While independent manipulation checks document the effectiveness of our depletion task, we do not find any evidence for increased risk aversion after self-control depletion. Our findings have important implications for the future modeling of decision making under risk.

Keywords: risk attitudes; self-control; ego depletion; dual-self models; experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C91 D03 D81 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 40 pages
Date: 2015-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp, nep-neu, nep-ore and nep-upt
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

Published - published in: European Economic Review, 2017, 100, 463-487.

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Related works:
Journal Article: Does self-control depletion affect risk attitudes? (2017)
Working Paper: Does self-control depletion affect risk attitudes? (2017)
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