Conveniently Dependent or Naively Overconfident? An Experimental Study on the Reaction to External Help

Yinjunjie (Jacquelyn Zhang, Zhicheng Xu and Marco Palma ()

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: The rapid development and diffusion of new technologies such as automation and artificial intelligence make life more convenient. At the same time, people may develop overdependence on technology to simplify everyday tasks or to reduce the level of effort required to accomplish them. We conduct a two-phase real-effort laboratory experiment to assess how external assistance affects subsequently revealed preferences for the convenience of a lower level of effort versus monetary rewards requiring greater effort. The results suggest that men treated with external help in the first phase tend to choose more difficult options with potentially higher monetary rewards. In contrast, after being treated with external help, women exhibit a stronger propensity to utilize the convenience of an easier task and are less likely to choose a more difficult option that carries higher potential earnings.

Keywords: Gender difference; Reaction to help; Real effort (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C91 D81 J16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cbe, nep-exp and nep-pay
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Related works:
Journal Article: Conveniently dependent or naively overconfident? An experimental study on the reaction to external help (2019)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pra:mprapa:93899

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