We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Ambiguity aversion and comparative ignorance.
- Authors
Fox, Craig R.; Tversky, Amos
- Abstract
Decisions under uncertainty depend not only on the degree of uncertainty but also on its source, as illustrated by Ellsberg's observation of ambiguity aversion. In this article we propose the comparative ignorance hypothesis, according to which ambiguity aversion is produced by a comparison with less ambiguous events or with more knowledgeable individuals. This hypothesis is supported in a series of studies showing that ambiguity aversion, present in a comparative context in which a person evaluates both clear and vague prospects, seems to disappear in a noncomparative context in which a person evaluates only one of these prospects in isolation.
- Subjects
AMBIGUITY; AVERSION; IGNORANCE (Theory of knowledge); UNCERTAINTY; ISOLATIONISM; PROSPECTING; HYPOTHESIS; PSYCHOLOGY
- Publication
Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1995, Vol 110, Issue 3, p585
- ISSN
0033-5533
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.2307/2946693