Pro forma estimation of financial statements often builds on constant ratios to sales revenue. While constant ratios may be relevant for established firms operating in predictable industries, they yield noninformative and possibly misleading information when applied to new firms, and...

In a series of experiments, Bar-Hillel and Budescu (1995) failed to find a desirability bias in probability estimation. The World Cup soccer tournament (of 2002 and 2006) provided an opportunity to revisit the phenomenon, in a context where wishful thinking and desirability bias are notoriously...

This research illustrates the power of reputation, such as that embodied in brand names, demonstrating that names can enhance objective product efficacy. Study participants facing a glaring light were asked to read printed words as accurately and as quickly as they could, receiving compensation...

Decision making often entails conflict. In many situations, the symptoms of such decisional conflict are conspicuous. This paper explores an important and unexamined question: How does observing someone else experiencing decisional conflict impact our own preferences? The authors show that...

We show that politically "tagged" food render food less tasty for those who hold contradicting political ideologies. This occur because the political ideology to which one opposes would evoke moral disgust, which in turn affect the taste of the product. In other words, moral disgust mediates the...

In two lab experiments, we show that when people wish to become closer to their ideal self,they tend to evaluate food that it associated with it as tastier. Participants rated the taste of products supporting a desired identity more highly. Participants who wanted to be seen as athletic rated...

Across three studies, we show that associating food with an objectionable ideology leads people to experience poorer taste. Specifically, donations to a political party one ideologically objects reduce evaluations of food from the donating company. We argue that this occurs because objectionable...

Across two studies, we demonstrate that depictions of food with implied motion enhance food appeal. This effect is mediated by perceived food freshness. We argue that this effect is due to an overextension of a primitive association between motion and freshness. Implications for promoting...

When consumers carry multiple debts, how do they decide which debt to repay first? Normatively, consumers should repay the debt with the highest interest rate most quickly. However, because people tend to break complicated tasks into more manageable parts, and because losses are most distressing...

Pro forma estimation of financial statements often builds on constant ratios to sales revenue. While constant ratios may be relevant for established firms operating in predictable industries, they yield noninformative and possibly misleading information when applied to new firms, and...