Task Transcending Satisficing - An Experimental Study

The paper explores the applicability of the satisficing approach. Inparticular, we investigate whether basic principles of aspiration formationand satisficing behavior are transferable between similar situations.Individuals are sequentially confronted with two risky investmenttasks, a simple and a more complex one. Initially elicited statecontingentaspirations can be used to predict actual portfolio selectionin both tasks. We explore whether individual characteristics of satisficingapply to both scenarios. Results indicate that stated aspirationsfrequently cannot be fulfilled. However, aspiration formation itself ishighly transferable between tasks.