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Preferences, personality and health behaviors: results from an explorative economic experiment

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  • Donata Bessey

    (Yonsei University)

Abstract

This research note analyzes the relationship between experimentally elicited, incentivized economic preference parameters, personality traits, and three health behaviors: smoking, drinking, and physical activity. While there is a strand of economic research that uses proxy measures of risk and time preference that are not derived from an incentivized experiment and personality traits at the same time, and a considerably smaller one that uses experimentally elicited measures of risk and time preference only, the innovation of my work is to use experimentally elicited, incentivized preference measures and personality traits at the same time to explain a range of health behaviors. Findings presented in this paper suggest that personality traits seem to be more important determinants of health behaviors than economic preference parameters, and that Big Five personality traits, especially Agreeableness, seem to be more important determinants than the Grit score developed by Duckworth et al. (J Pers Soc Psychol 92(6):1087, 2007). When also controlling for a host of personality traits, risk preference is not related to the analyzed behaviors, but time preference is negatively related to smoking. When controlling for economic preferences and Big Five personality traits, the Grit score is unrelated to the analyzed health behaviors. Big Five openness is negatively related to the probability of engaging in physical activity, while Big Five agreeableness is negatively related to the probability of both drinking and binge drinking, but also to the probability of engaging in physical activity. Big Five neuroticism is negatively related to the probability of binge drinking.

Suggested Citation

  • Donata Bessey, 2018. "Preferences, personality and health behaviors: results from an explorative economic experiment," International Journal of Health Economics and Management, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 437-456, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:ijhcfe:v:18:y:2018:i:4:d:10.1007_s10754-018-9236-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s10754-018-9236-1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Nikolov, Plamen & Pape, Andreas & Tonguc, Ozlem & Williams, Charlotte, 2020. "Predictors of Social Distancing and Mask-Wearing Behavior: Panel Survey in Seven U.S. States," IZA Discussion Papers 13745, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Health production; Risk attitude; Time preference; Big five; Grit score;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior

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