Using Pandemic Behavior to Test the External Validity of Laboratory Measurements of Risk Aversion and Guilt.

ABSTRACT: We test whether laboratory measures of individual preferences for risk and guilt relate to risk-connected behaviors in a pandemic, such as socializing, dining in at restaurants, and hand washing. We utilize a survey administrated to a nationally representative subject pool in the United States in April, 2020 - the month following the declaration of a national state of emergency in response to the global outbreak of COVID-19. We find that higher levels of risk aversion are associated with risk-reducing behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, we do not find strong evidence that guilt relates to the same behavior.

SUBMITTER: Collier T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9458551 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature