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  • 2021
  • Working Paper
  • HBS Working Paper Series

Information Avoidance and Image Concerns

By: Christine L. Exley and Judd B. Kessler
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:96
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Abstract

A rich literature finds that individuals avoid information, even information that is instrumental to their choices. A common hypothesis posits that individuals strategically avoid information to hold particular beliefs or to take certain actions--such as behaving selfishly--with lower image costs. Building off of the classic "moral wiggle room" design, this paper provides the first direct test of whether individuals avoid information because of image concerns. We analyze data from 4,626 experimental subjects. We find that image concerns play a role in driving information avoidance, but a role that is substantially smaller than the common approach in the literature would suggest. The large majority (66% to 81%) of information avoidance remains when image concerns cannot drive avoidance. We find evidence for other reasons why individuals avoid information, such as a desire to avoid interpersonal tradeoffs, a desire to avoid bad news, laziness, inattention, and confusion.

Keywords

Image Motivation; Self-image; Information; Behavior; Identity; Personal Characteristics

Citation

Exley, Christine L., and Judd B. Kessler. "Information Avoidance and Image Concerns." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-080, January 2021.
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About The Author

Christine L. Exley

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • 2022
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    When Do Individuals Give Up Agency? The Role of Decision Avoidance

    By: Holly Dykstra, Christine L. Exley and Muriel Niederle
    • 2022
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    The Gender Minority Gaps in Confidence and Self-Evaluations

    By: Billur Aksoy, Christine L. Exley and Judd B. Kessler
    • 2022
    • Faculty Research

    The Gender Gap in Confidence: Expected But Not Accounted For

    By: Christine L. Exley and Kirby Nielsen
More from the Authors
  • When Do Individuals Give Up Agency? The Role of Decision Avoidance By: Holly Dykstra, Christine L. Exley and Muriel Niederle
  • The Gender Minority Gaps in Confidence and Self-Evaluations By: Billur Aksoy, Christine L. Exley and Judd B. Kessler
  • The Gender Gap in Confidence: Expected But Not Accounted For By: Christine L. Exley and Kirby Nielsen
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