Illusion of control and the pursuit of authority

Randolph Sloof · Ferdinand A. von Siemens

39 citations0/0 files storedExperimental Economics

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Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics Social Power and Status Dynamics

Abstract

Abstract We measure participants’ willingness to pay for transparently useless authority—the right to make a completely uninformed task decision. We further elicit participants’ beliefs about receiving their preferred outcome if they make the decision themselves, and if another participant makes the decision for them. We find that participants pay more to make the decision themselves if they also believe that they can thus increase the probability of getting their preferred outcome. Illusion of control therefore exists in a controlled laboratory environment with monetary incentives and is connected to peoples’ pursuit of authority.

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References

1975The illusion of control.1971Elicitation of Personal Probabilities and Expectations 2000Cognitive biases, risk perception, and venture formation 2006The Hidden Costs of Control 1979The desirability of control 2013The Handbook of Organizational Economics 2005The Willingness to Pay–Willingness to Accept Gap, the “Endowment Effect,” Subject Misconceptions, and Experimental Procedures for Eliciting Valuations 2011The Willingness to Pay—Willingness to Accept Gap, the “Endowment Effect,” Subject Misconceptions, and Experimental Procedures for Eliciting Valuations: Comment

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2020Preferences for power 2019Effective leadership and the allocation and exercise of power in organizations 2019Demand for decision autonomy and the desire to avoid responsibility in risky environments: Experimental evidence 2024Managing students’ illusion of control in higher education: effect on unrealistic optimism and expectancy disconfirmation 2022An examination of relationship between cognitive biases and customer satisfaction: empirical evidence from Thailand

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