The problem of choosing an optimal toolkit day after day, when the distribution of values of different toolkits is uncertain and can only be observed by carrying different toolkits, is a multi-armed bandit problem with non-independent arms. Accordingly, except for very simple specifications,...

This paper continues our study of heuristics employed to choose dynamically tools to put in a toolkit, where the value of any tool can be discovered only by choosing it. This is a multi-armed bandit problem with “arms” that are not independent, hence it is a problem for which the optimal...

We present a novel approach to finite Rational Inattention (RI) models based on the ignorance equivalent, a fictitious action with state-dependent payoffs that effectively summarizes the optimal learning and conditional choices. The ignorance equivalent allows us to recast the RI problem as a...

The conjunction fallacy is an anomaly in human reasoning for which the conjunction of two events is rated more likely to occur than one of the events alone. In the context of decision under uncertainty, this violates the monotonicity axiom of probability, and consequentially also Bayes' Rule and...

Multiple attribute search is a central feature of economic life: we consider much more than price when purchasing a home, and more than wage when choosing a job. Search behavior in these environments has recently been found to deviate systematically and substantially from optimal sequential...

We report an experiment that infers true overconfidence in relative ability through actions, as opposed to reported beliefs. Subjects choose how to invest earnings from a skill task when the returns depend solely upon risk, or both risk and relative placement, enabling joint estimation of...

There are two phenomena in behavioral finance and economics which are seemingly unrelated and have been studied separately; overconfidence and ambiguity aversion. In this paper we are trying to link these two phenomena providing a theoretical foundation supported by evidence from an experimental...

Optimistic beliefs affect important areas of economic decision making, yet direct knowledge on how belief biases operate remains limited. To better understand these biases I introduce a theoretical framework that trades off anticipatory benefits against two potential costs of forming biased...