Economists Heart Howie
A team of researchers has published preliminary findings about individuals’ risk tolerance based on the show Deal or No Deal, which apparently began in Europe.
The second comment on the linked article also vindicates something we’ve all suspected all along:
Do the studies consider the selection process for contestants? It seems as if only a certain type of individual is selected to appear on the shows. One wouldn’t expect to see an individual with agoraphobia on the show, for example. It may just be that prospect theory best fits the Deal or No Deal subgroup, a sample selected to maximize ad revenue for a television network. I suspect that the results of the academic study speak more to which type of individual entertains us rather than how consumers actually make decisions.
