Improving Rationality by Increasing Attention

Models of limited attention have the potential to become a new unifying paradigm that could replace the rational choice approach. In this paper, we test the limited attention hypothesis by enhancing attention using pharmacological substances. A total of 160 subjects participated in our randomized, placebo-controlled, and double-blind experimental study. We find that enhancing attention through boosting the noradrenergic system with reboxetine improves the quality of choice as captured by multiple different measures of rationality. Eye-tracking suggests that boosting noradrenaline promotes more rational choice by efficiently directing attention to more valuable options. Other attention-enhancing drugs (methylphenidate, which boosts the dopaminergic system, and nicotine, which boosts the cholinergic system) improve rationality to a lesser extent. Aside from testing the limited attention hypothesis directly, our results have implications for welfare economics, policy-design, and public health.