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Confidence-Enhanced Performance

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Author Info
Olivier Compte () (CERAS, Ecole nationale des Ponts et Chaussees)
Andrew Postlewaite () (Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania)

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Abstract

There is ample evidence that emotions affect performance. Positive emotions can improve performance, while negative ones may diminish it. For example, the fears induced by the possibility of failure or of negative evaluations have physiological consequences (shaking, loss of concentration) that may impair performance in sports, on stage or at school. There is also ample evidence that individuals have distorted recollection of past events, and distorted attributions of the causes of successes of failures. Recollection of good events or successes is typically easier than recollection of bad ones or failures. Successes tend to be attributed to intrinsic aptitudes or own effort, while failures are attributed to bad luck. In addition, these attributions are often reversed when judging the performance of others. The objective of this paper is to incorporate the first phenomenon above into an otherwise standard decision theoretic model, and show that in a world where performance depends on emotions, biases in information processing enhance welfare.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania in its series PIER Working Paper Archive with number 03-009.

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Length: 31 pages
Date of creation: 01 Mar 2003
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Handle: RePEc:pen:papers:03-009

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Keywords: confidence perception psychology

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
D8 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

  1. Roland Bénabou & Jean Tirole, 2002. "Self-Confidence And Personal Motivation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 117(3), pages 871-915, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Eric, Van den Steen, 2002. "Skill or Luck? Biases of Rational Agents," Working papers 4255-02, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Sloan School of Management. [Downloadable!]
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  3. Joel L. Schrag, 1999. "First Impressions Matter: A Model Of Confirmatory Bias," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 114(1), pages 37-82, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Waldman, Michael, 1994. "Systematic Errors and the Theory of Natural Selection," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(3), pages 482-97, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Rabin, Matthew, 1993. "Incorporating Fairness into Game Theory and Economics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 83(5), pages 1281-1302, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Geanakoplos, John & Pearce, David & Stacchetti, Ennio, 1989. "Psychological games and sequential rationality," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 1(1), pages 60-79, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Alessandro Lizzeri & Marciano Siniscalchi, 2006. "Parental Guidance and Supervised Learning," Levine's Bibliography 321307000000000395, UCLA Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Hanming Fang & Giuseppe Moscarini, 2003. "Morale Hazard," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 1422, Cowles Foundation, Yale University. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Eric Van den Steen, 2004. "Rational Overoptimism (and Other Biases)," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(4), pages 1141-1151, September. [Downloadable!]
  4. Jeremy Clark & Lana Friesen, 2006. "Overconfidence in Forecasts of Own Performance: An Experimental Study," Working Papers in Economics 06/09, University of Canterbury, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  5. Silvia Dominguez Martinez & Otto H. Swank, 2006. "A Simple Model of Self-Assessments," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 06-010/1, Tinbergen Institute. [Downloadable!]
  6. Pierpaolo Benigno & Anastasios Karantounias, 2006. "Overconfidence, Subjective Perception and Pricing Behavior," NBER Working Papers 11922, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Aviad Heifetz & Chris Shannon & Yossi Spiegel, 2007. "The Dynamic Evolution of Preferences," Economic Theory, Springer, vol. 32(2), pages 251-286, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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