Information Overload and Confirmation Bias

Lorenz Goette, Hua-Jing Han and Benson Tsz Kin Leung

Cambridge Working Papers in Economics from Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge

Abstract: We show that information overload contributes to confirmation bias. In an experiment, we vary the difficulty of information processing as subjects receive a sequence of signals of an unknown state. In the treatment condition, the preceding signal disappears as the next signal appears. In the control condition, the preceding signal remains visible. We find stronger confirmation bias among subjects in the treatment condition. Our results provide empirical support for models that emphasize the role of limited information processing in confirmation bias (Wilson (2014), Leung (2018), Jehiel and Steiner (2018)).

Keywords: information overload; belief formation; confirmation bias (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D83 D91 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020-03-23
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp
Note: btkl3
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cam:camdae:2019

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