Title: Timing of Informativeness: Experimental Evidence on Motivated Reasoning
Abstract: We present the first experimental evidence that the timing of informativeness influences motivated reasoning. Participants place more weight on information that aligns with their desired outcomes when they learn about a signal’s informativeness after receiving the signal, compared to when the order is reversed. This order effect is driven by uninformative signals: once such a signal is received, it appears difficult to disregard. However, individuals are more likely to retract a uninformative signal when it does not support their preferred conclusion. These findings suggest that revealing informativeness earlier may be a simple yet effective way to mitigate motivated reasoning.
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The virtual seminar will consist of a 60-minute research paper presentation, followed by 15 minutes of Q&A and 15 minutes of discussion with students/junior researchers. During the final 15-minute discussion session, we encourage students and junior researchers to stay and interact with the speaker.