
doi: 10.2139/ssrn.2613814
handle: 10419/110857
The completeness axiom of choice has been questioned for long, and in response, theoretical models of decision making allowing for incomplete preferences have been developed. So far the theoretical accomplishments have however not been paired with empirical evidence on the actual existence of incomplete preferences. In this paper we provide empirical evidence in support of the existence of incomplete preferences due to multiple priors over an ambiguous event. We design experimental decision tasks where specific choice patterns are consistent with incomplete preferences under uncertainty but inconsistent with models assuming complete preferences. We find that approximately half of the subjects behave consistent with incomplete preferences due to multiple priors and that the observed behavioral pattern cannot be attributed to mistakes, probability weighting or regret aversion. In a robustness test we show that the observed behavior is robust to a prize variation in the ambiguous prospect and consistent with comparative statics predictions based on incomplete preferences under uncertainty.
D81, Laboratory, Individual; Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles; Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty; [Design of Experiments], multiple priors, experiment, ddc:330, C91, incomplete preferences, D01, uncertainty, incomplete preferences, uncertainty, multiple priors, experiment, jel: jel:D81, jel: jel:C91, jel: jel:D01
D81, Laboratory, Individual; Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles; Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty; [Design of Experiments], multiple priors, experiment, ddc:330, C91, incomplete preferences, D01, uncertainty, incomplete preferences, uncertainty, multiple priors, experiment, jel: jel:D81, jel: jel:C91, jel: jel:D01
| selected citations These citations are derived from selected sources. This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | 0 | |
| popularity This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network. | Average | |
| influence This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically). | Average | |
| impulse This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network. | Average |
