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Attentional shifts and preference reversals: An eye-tracking study

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<mark>Journal publication date</mark>1/01/2021
<mark>Journal</mark>Judgment and Decision Making
Issue number1
Volume16
Number of pages37
Pages (from-to)57-93
Publication StatusPublished
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

The classic preference reversal phenomenon, where monetary evaluations contra-dict risky choices, has been argued to arise due to a focus on outcomes during the evaluation of alternatives, leading to overpricing of long-shot options. Such an ex-planation makes the implicit assumption that attentional shifts drive the phenomenon. We conducted an eye-tracking study to causally test this hypothesis by comparing a treatment based on cardinal, monetary evaluations with a different treatment avoiding a monetary frame. We find a significant treatment effect in the form of a shift in attention toward outcomes (relative to probabilities) when evaluations are monetary. Our evidence suggests that attentional shifts resulting from the monetary frame of evaluations are a driver of preference reversals.