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Free keywords:
Motivated reasoning, information avoidance, defaults, status quo, charitable giving, experiment
JEL:
C90 - General
JEL:
D64 - Altruism; Philanthropy; Intergenerational Transfers
JEL:
D83 - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
JEL:
D91 - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
Abstract:
We investigate whether the presence of a default interacts with the willingness of decision-makers to gather, process and consider information. In an online experiment, where about 2,300 participants choose between two compiled charity donation options worth $100, we vary the availability of information and the presence of a default. Information avoidance, when possible, increases default effects considerably, manifesting a hitherto undocumented channel of the default bias. Moreover, we show that defaults trigger motivated reasoning: In the presence of a default – even if self-selected–, participants consider new information to a lower degree than without a preselected option.
