Economic Research on Choice Overload

In
 the
 first
 set
 of
 decisions
 you
 will
 be
 asked
 to
 make
 a
 series
 of
 35
 decisions
 about

how
  to
  divide
  a
  set
  of
  tokens
  between
  two
  dates.
  Tokens
  will
  be
  later
  exchanged
  for

money.
  The
  tokens
  you
  allocate
  to
  later
  dates
  will
  always
  be
  worth
  more
  money

than
  tokens
  you
  allocate
  to
  the
  earlier
  date.
  This
  process
  is
  best
  described
  by
  an

example.
 Below
 is
 a
 sample
 decision,
 like
 what
 you
 will
 see
 on
 the
 next
 page.

This
  decision
  shows
  the
  choice
  to
  allocate
  100
  tokens
  between
  today,
  November

19th,
 and
 December
 3rd.
 In
 each
 decision,
 the
 dates
 are
 highlighted
 so
 that
 you
 can

easily
 see
 when
 the
 decision
 begins
 and
 ends.

In
 this
 decision
 each
 token
 you
 allocate
 to
  Nov.
 19th
 is
 worth
 $.10,
 while
 each
 token

you
 allocate
 to
 Dec.
 3rd
 is
 worth
 $.15.
 So,
 if
 you
 allocate
 all
 100
 tokens
 to
 Nov.
 19th,

you
  will
  earn
  $10
  on
  this
  date
  and
  nothing
  on
  Dec.
  3rd.
  If
  you
  allocate
  all
  100
  tokens

to
 Dec.
 3rd
 you
 will
 receive
 $15
 on
 this
 date
 and
 nothing
 on
 Nov.
 19th.
 You
 are
 also

free
  to
  allocate
  some
  tokens
  to
  the
  earlier
  date
  and
  some
  to
  the
  later
  date.
  For

instance,
 if
 you
 allocate
 50
 tokens
 to
 Nov.
 19th
 and
 50
 to
 Dec.
 3rd,
 you
 will
 earn
 $5.00

on
 Nov.
 19th
 and
 $7.50
 on
  Dec.
 3rd.
 Remember
 that
 however
 you
 allocate
 the
 tokens,

any
  earnings
  will
  be
  added
  to
  a
  $5
  flat
  payment
  for
  the
  earlier
  date
  and
  a
  $5
  flat

payment
  for
  the
  later
  dates.
  So,
  even
  if
  you
  allocate
  all
  your
  tokens
  to
  one
  of
  the

dates,
  you
  will
  still
  receive
  an
  envelope
  with
  at
  least
  $5
  cash
  on
  both
  the
  earlier
  and

later
 dates.

Please
 turn
 the
 page
 to
 begin.

Part
 1.

Please
 make
 sure
 that
 the
 tokens
 total
 100
 in
 each
 decision:

Please
 make
 sure
 that
 the
 tokens
 total
 100
 in
 each
 decision:

Please
 make
 sure
 that
 the
 tokens
 total
 100
 in
 each
 decision:

Please
 make
 sure
 that
 the
 tokens
 total
 100
 in
 each
 decision:

Please
 make
 sure
 that
 the
 tokens
 total
 100
 in
 each
 decision:

Part
 2.

In
 the
 following
 sheets,
 you
 are
 asked
 to
 choose
 between
 smaller
 payments
 closer
 to

today
 and
 larger
 payments
 further
 in
 the
 future.
 For
 each
 row,
 choose
 one
 payment:

either
  the
  smaller,
  sooner
  payment
  or
  the
  larger,
  later
  payment.
  I
  will
  randomly

select
  one
  person
  to
  pay
  on
  the
  basis
  of
  their
  decision
  in
  Part
  2.
  If
  you
  are
  this

person,
 when
 calculating
 your
 earnings
 from
 the
 decision-­‐that-­‐counts,
 I
 will
 add
 to

your
  earnings
  $5
  in
  cash
  for
  both
  time
  periods.
  Thus,
  you
  will
  always
  get
  paid
  at

least
  $5
  at
  the
  chosen
  earlier
  time,
  and
  at
  least
  $5
  at
  the
  chosen
  later
  time.
  The

payment
 that
 you
 choose
 (either
 sooner
 or
 later)
 in
 the
 decision
 that
 counts
 will
 be

added
  to
  either
  your
  earlier
  $5
  payment
  or
  your
  later
  $5
  payment.
  Please
  treat
  each

decision
 as
 if
 it
 could
 be
 the
 one
 that
 determines
 your
 payment.
 If
 you
 are
 chosen
 for

payment,
  I
  will
  ask
  you
  to
  provide
  a
  mailing
  address
  at
  which
  you
  can
  receive
  the

money
  due
  to
  you
  and
  the
  cash
  will
  be
  delivered
  to
  you
  at
  this
  time.
  If
  you
  are

selected
  to
  receive
  money
  today,
  it
  will
  arrive
  in
  your
  campus
  mailbox
  by
  the
  end
  of

the
 day.
 If
 you
 are
 selected
 to
 receive
 money
 over
 break,
 it
 will
 be
 mailed
 so
 as
 to


arrive
 at
 the
 address
 you
 provide
 on
 the
 appropriate
 day.

Today
 vs.
 Two
 Weeks
 from
 Today
 (December
 3rd)


Decide
 for
 each
 if
 you
 would
 like
 the
 smaller
 payment
 for
 sure
 today
 or
 the
 larger


payment

for
 sure
 in
 two
 weeks.
 Please
 answer
 for
 each
 by
 filling
 in
 one
 box
 for
 each


number.





  

 






1)
 Would
 you
 like
 
to
 receive:



$19 today

 

2)
 Would
 you
 like
 
to
 receive:

$18 today


 

3)
 Would
 you
 like
 to
 receive:

$16 today
 

 

or

$20 in two weeks



or

$20 in two weeks



or

$20 in two weeks



4)
 Would
 you
 like
 to
 receive:

$14 today

or

$20 in two weeks

5)
 Would
 you
 like
 to
 receive:

$11 today

or

$20 in two weeks

6)
 Would
 you
 like
 to
 receive:

$8 today

or

$20 in two weeks

7)
 Would
 you
 like
 to
 receive:

$5 today

or

$20 in two weeks







th

Today

vs.
 Three
 Weeks
 from
 Today
 (December
 10 )


Decide
 for
 each
 if
 you
 would
 like
 the
 smaller
 payment
 for
 sure
 today
 or
 the
 larger


payment
 for
 sure
 in
 three
 weeks.
 Please
 answer
 for
 each
 by
 filling
 in
 one
 box
 for


each
 number.


  

 






8)
 Would
 you
 like
 
to
 receive:



$19 today

 

9)
 Would
 you
 like
 
to
 receive:



$18 today

 

10)
 Would
 you
 like
 to
 receive:

$16 today
 

 

or

$20 in three weeks



or

$20 in three weeks



or

$20 in three weeks



11)
 Would
 you
 like
 to
 receive:

$14 today

or

$20 in three weeks

12)
 Would
 you
 like
 to
 receive:

$11 today

or

$20 in three weeks

13)
 Would
 you
 like
 to
 receive:

$8 today

or

$20 in three weeks

14)
 Would
 you
 like
 to
 receive:

$5 today

or

$20 in three weeks



23





th

Today
 vs.
 Four
 Weeks
 from
 Today
 (December
 17 )

Decide
 for
 each
 if
 you
 would
 like
 the
 smaller
 payment
 for
 sure
 today
 or
 the
 larger


payment

for
 sure
 in
 four
 weeks.
 Please
 answer
 for
 each
 by
 filling
 in
 one
 box
 for
 each


number.




  

 






15)
 Would
 you
 like

to
 receive:




$19 today

 

16)
 Would
 you
 like

to
 receive:




$18 today

 

17)
 Would
 you
 like
 to
 receive:

$16 today
 

 

or

$20 in four weeks



or

$20 in four weeks



or

$20 in four weeks



18)
 Would
 you
 like
 to
 receive:

$14 today

or

$20 in four weeks

19)
 Would
 you
 like
 to
 receive:

$11 today

or

$20 in four weeks

20)
 Would
 you
 like
 to
 receive:

$8 today

or

$20 in four weeks

21)
 Would
 you
 like
 to
 receive:

$5 today

or

$20 in four weeks



23





th

Today
 vs.
 Five
 Weeks
 from
 Today
 (December
 24 )

Decide
 for
 each
 if
 you
 would
 like
 the
 smaller
 payment
 for
 sure
 today
 or
 the
 larger


payment

for
 sure
 in
 five
 weeks.
 Please
 answer
 for
 each
 by
 filling
 in
 one
 box
 for
 each


number.




  

 






22)
 Would
 you
 like

to
 receive:




$19 today

 

23)
 Would
 you
 like

to
 receive:




$18 today

 

24)
 Would
 you
 like
 to
 receive:

$16 today
 

 

or

$20 in five weeks



or

$20 in five weeks



or

$20 in five weeks



25)
 Would
 you
 like
 to
 receive:

$14 today

or

$20 in five weeks

26)
 Would
 you
 like
 to
 receive:

$11 today

or

$20 in five weeks

27)
 Would
 you
 like
 to
 receive:

$8 today

or

$20 in five weeks

28)
 Would
 you
 like
 to
 receive:

$5 today

or

$20 in five weeks



23





st

Today
 vs.
 Six
 Weeks
 from
 Today
 (December
 31 )
Decide
 for
 each
 if
 you
 would
 like
 the
 smaller
 payment
 for
 sure
 today
 or
 the
 larger


payment

for
 sure
 in
 six
 weeks.
 Please
 answer
 for
 each
 by
 filling
 in
 one
 box
 for
 each


number.




  

 






29)
 Would
 you
 like

to
 receive:




$19 today

 

30)
 Would
 you
 like

to
 receive:




$18 today

 

31)
 Would
 you
 like
 to
 receive:

$16 today
 

 

or

$20 in six weeks



or

$20 in six weeks



or

$20 in six weeks



32)
 Would
 you
 like
 to
 receive:

$14 today

or

$20 in six weeks

33)
 Would
 you
 like
 to
 receive:

$11 today

or

$20 in six weeks

34)
 Would
 you
 like
 to
 receive:

$8 today

or

$20 in six weeks

35)
 Would
 you
 like
 to
 receive:

$5 today

or

$20 in six weeks



23

Part
 3.

On
  the
  following
  sheets,
  you
  are
  asked
  to
  choose
  between
  options:
  Option
  A
  or

Option
  B.

  On
  each
  sheet
  you
  will
  make
  ten
  choices,
  one
  on
  each
  row.
  For
  each

decision
  row
  you
  will
  have
  to
  choose
  either
  Option
  A
  or
  Option
  B.
  You
  make
  your

decision
 by
 checking
 the
 box
 next
 to
 the
 option
 you
 prefer
 more.
 You
 may
 choose
 A

for
  some
  decision
  rows
  and
  B
  for
  other
  rows,
  and
  you
  may
  change
  your
  decisions

and
 make
 them
 in
 any
 order.

At
 the
 end,
 I
 will
 randomly
 choose
 1
 person
 to
 pay
 from
 Part
 3.
 If
 you
 are
 chosen,

one
 of
 the
 decisions
 you
 make
 will
 be
 randomly
 chosen
 as
 the
 decision-­‐that-­‐counts,

and,
 the
 money
 you
 get
 from
 that
 decision
 will
 arrive
 in
 your
 campus
 mailbox
 by
 the

end
 of
 the
 day
 (if
 you
 are
 chosen
 for
 payment,
 I
 will
 ask
 you
 to
 provide
 your
 campus

mailbox
 number).
 Your
 payment
 in
 the
 decision-­‐that-­‐counts
 will
 be
 determined
 by

throwing
 a
 10
 sided
 die.
 Now,
 please
 look
 at
 Decision
 1
 below.
 Option
 A
 pays
 $10.39

if
  the
  throw
  of
  the
  ten
  sided
  die
  is
  1,
  and
  it
  pays
  $8.31
  if
  the
  throw
  is
  2-­‐10.
  Option
  B

yields
  $20
  if
  the
  throw
  of
  the
  die
  is
  1,
  and
  it
  pays
  $0.52
  if
  the
  throw
  is
  2-­‐10.
  The

other
 Decisions
 are
 similar,
 except
 that
 as
 you
 move
 down
 the
 table,
 the
 chances
 of

the
 higher
 payoff
 for
 each
 option
 increase.
 In
 fact,
 for
 Decision
 10
 in
 the
 bottom
 row,

the
 die
 will
 not
 be
 needed
 since
 each
 option
 pays
 the
 highest
 payoff
 for
 sure,
 so
 your

choice
 here
 is
 between
 $10.39
 or
 $20.

Remember
  that
  each
  decision
  could
  be
  the
  decision-­‐that-­‐counts
  and
  it
  is
  in
  your

interest
 to
 treat
 each
 decision
 as
 if
 it
 could
 be
 the
 one
 that
 determines
 your
 payoff.