Econ Papers Daily / 期刊论文
实验室中的消费学习
Learning by consuming in the lab
摘要
We build an experiment to uncover the bandit-like nature of consumer behavior usually masked by the product and time aggregation of consumption data. Subjects make repeated choices between musical styles (either all familiar or unfamiliar), and post-choice satisfaction is observed. We estimate Bayesian bandit models of learning taste by consuming with satiation. Our best model features decreasing random exploration, with openness being associated with higher exploration. Early exploration is more intensive in the unfamiliar treatment and persists throughout the experiment in both treatments. Overall, subjects make choices that deviate from their best prediction 61.5% of the time in the unfamiliar treatment versus 44.7% in the familiar treatment. Our model offers a rational interpretation of random utility in discrete consumer choices which does not rest on perception and/or decision errors.
中文摘要
我们构建了一项实验，以揭示通常被消费数据的产品和时间聚合所掩盖的消费者行为的“赌博机”特性。受试者在音乐风格（全部为熟悉或全部为不熟悉）之间进行重复选择，并观察选择后的满意度。我们通过消费与饱足感来估计学习品味的贝叶斯赌博机模型。最优模型的特征是随机探索逐渐减少，而开放性则与更高的探索水平相关。在不熟悉处理组中，早期探索更为密集，且这种探索在两个处理组中均持续整个实验。总体而言，受试者在不熟悉处理组中有61.5%的时间做出了偏离其最佳预测的选择，而在熟悉处理组中这一比例为44.7%。我们的模型为离散消费者选择中的随机效用提供了一种理性解释，这种解释不依赖于感知和/或决策错误。