Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/282387 
Year of Publication: 
2023
Series/Report no.: 
CESifo Working Paper No. 10699
Publisher: 
Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), Munich
Abstract: 
We report the results of an experiment on selective exposure to information. A decision maker interested in learning about an uncertain state of the world can acquire information from one of two sources which have opposite biases: when informed on the state, they report it truthfully; when uninformed, they report their favorite state. A Bayesian decision maker is better off seeking confirmatory information unless the source biased against the prior is sufficiently more reliable. In line with the theory, subjects are more likely to seek confirmatory information when sources are symmetrically reliable. On the other hand, when sources are asymmetrically reliable, subjects are more likely to consult the more reliable source even when prior beliefs are strongly unbalanced and this source is less informative. Our experiment suggests that base rate neglect and simple heuristics (e.g., listen to the most reliable source) are important drivers of the endogenous acquisition of information.
Subjects: 
information acquisition
biased information sources
selective exposure
echo chambers
confirmation bias
base rate neglect
laboratory experiment
JEL: 
C91
D81
D83
D91
Document Type: 
Working Paper
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