Gains and losses in intertemporal preferences: a behavioural study

According to recent evidence (Frederick, Loewenstein, & O’Donoghue, 2002), the traditional Discounted Utility model (Samuelson, 1937) has a limited ability to describe realistic models of behaviour and indeed there are several documented empirical regularities that seem to contradict this statement both in certainty and uncertainty conditions. This study focused on one of the best documented anomalies: sign effect or gain-loss asymmetry (Frederick et al., 2002; Loewenstein & Prelec, 1992; Read, 2004). Specifically, the study investigated the intertemporal preference for symmetric monetary rewards and punishments in certain conditions, and the no wealth effects hypothesis (Dimitri, 2007) by asking subjects to choose between two positive or two negative euro amounts available at different points in time. The experimental design applied here followed the same behavioural pattern of the neuroeconomics’ study on monetary rewards realized by McClure et al. (2004). The results confirmed a gain-loss asymmetry at least for medium and large euro amount and suggested new directions of research.intertemporal preferences; gains; losses; certainty; sign effect .

Promises in Group Decision Making

We assess in the laboratory the impact of promises on group decision-making. The gift-exchange game provides the testing ground for our experiment. When played between groups, inter-group cooperation and reciprocity represent a condition for efficiency in overall decision making. We find that promises have a significant positive effect on aggregate profits. We interpret these findings as if promises act as a trigger of social conformity, according to which groups adopt socially more desirable behavior even without face-to-face communication or discussion

Does residents' perceived life satisfaction vary with tourist season? A two-step survey in a Mediterranean destination

Recent attention has been dedicated to the relationship between tourism and subjective well-being, however studies have mainly focused on the tourist side. Since residents are an indispensable partner for the success of any tourism program, understanding whether and how tourism affects residents' perceived life-satisfaction is a crucial issue. However, scant attention has been paid to this theme and the majority of studies are cross-sectional. Here we develop a two-step survey, conducted in a seaside resort before and during the tourist season to test for significant differences in residents' perceptions of tourism impact and overall life satisfaction. The results confirm the hypothesis that perceived tourism impact and life satisfaction vary with the tourist season, and that tourism has a hidden cost in terms of perceived life satisfaction

Happiness and Outdoor Vacations Appreciative versus Consumptive Tourists

Recently particular attention has been devoted to the relationship between leisure activities and subjective well-being. Less attention has been dedicated to tourism as a life satisfaction domain, despite it being one of the most relevant leisure activities. The aim of this article is to contribute to expanding this line of investigation. Building on the Dunlap and Heffernan hypothesis and employing activity-based segmentation, it verifies to what extent environmental attitudes are related to activities that tourists perform during their vacation, and whether a relationship exists between the activities performed and life satisfaction. The hypothesis is that tourists involved in more appreciative activities are normally more concerned about the environment, more beneficial for host territories, and happier. The article demonstrates that a positive association exists between these aspects and the way tourists “use” nature

Happiness and nature-based vacations

The paper merges two lines of research, into tourism and the economics of happiness. It enlarge and further investigates the Dunlap and Heffernan hypothesis. It tests for the relationship between appreciative/consumptive activities and life satisfaction. It shows that experiencing nature rather than exploiting it contribute to tourists’ well-being. It confirms that the type of tourist one belongs to is a strong distinguishing factor

The Albo Project: Virtual Working Environments for the Detection of Organizational Well-Being

Substantial evidence from social and cognitive psychology suggests that lot of behaviours are driven by processes operating outside of awareness. Many implicit or indirect measures to capture such processes have been proposed. Thus, the literature of risk perception shows the role of the heuristic thinking in the individual evaluation of the risky situations. The aim of the ALBO Project is verify, both theoretically and experimentally, if the traditional instruments for assessing work-related stress (questionnaires, check-lists and interviews) are inappropriate to detect the individual perception of psycho-social risk factors in work environments. It is also claimed that virtual reality simulations permits a better assessment of the potential factors of stress in workplaces. Game simulations based on the techniques of virtual reality are potent tools to provide a substantial improvement in the quality and quantity of information and awareness on the safety and psycho-social risks existing inside organizations. Also, the virtual reality exposure (virtual movies) can facilitate the objectivity in judgment of audience. The final product called Adventure Game, was submitted in three pilot firms to test it. The result of the first step of the project is the demo version including scenarios of virtual work environments. The final product will be used for assessing job stress and for designing training experiences in workplaces on online platforms

Risk Taking and Social Exposure

The paper examines in the laboratory how risk-taking situations are affected by the conditions of observing other’s choices (observer) and being observed by others (source). By extending Yechiam et al.’s (2008) experimental design to the domain of gains we find that observers are more probable than sources to choose risky alternatives producing rare gains than equiprobable gains. The impact of social exposure is also analyzed and interpreted in the context of personality traits to assess how heterogeneity influences risky decisions

Framing effects in intertemporal choice: A nudge experiment

This paper experimentally investigates the framing effects of intertemporal choice using two different elicitation modes, termed classical and penal. In the classical mode, participants are given the choice between receiving a certain amount of money, smaller and sooner, today and a higher amount, larger and later, delayed (e.g., “€55 today vs. €75 in 61 days”). This is referred to as the standard mode. In the penalty mode, the participant must give up an explicit amount of money in order to choose the smaller and sooner option (e.g., “€75 in 61 days vs. €55 today with a penalty of €20”). This is the explicit mode. We find that estimates of individual discount rates are lower in the explicit mode than in the standard mode. This result suggests that even very simple information about the amount of money one must surrender for choosing the earlier option increases delayed consumption. The finding has relevant implications for self-control and long-term planning in intertemporal choice