Tra i Leoni: Revealing the preferences behind a superstition

Giovanna M. Invernizzi, Joshua B. Miller, Tommaso Coen, Martin Dufwenberg and Luiz Edgard R. Oliveira

Journal of Economic Psychology, 2021, vol. 82, issue C

Abstract: We examine a superstition for which adherence is nearly universal among its target population. Using a combination of field interventions that involve unsuspecting participants and a lab-style value elicitation, we investigate the nature and strength of peoples’ underlying preferences. While a substantial minority of people are willing to incur a relatively high individual cost in order to adhere to the superstition, for many, adherence is contingent on the behavior of others. Our findings are consistent with the idea that it is the conforming nature of the majority that sustains the false beliefs of the minority.

Keywords: Superstition; Conformity; Field experiment; Lab-in-the-field (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 D01 D91 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Working Paper: Tra i Leoni: Revealing the Preferences Behind a Superstition (2019)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:joepsy:v:82:y:2021:i:c:s0167487020300854

DOI: 10.1016/j.joep.2020.102324

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