When Information Conflicts with Obligations
The Role of Motivated Cognition
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9703519 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ao Wang (0000-0002-8564-3042, National University of Singapore , Singapore), Shaoda Wang (University of Chicago & NBER , USA, corresponding author), Xiaoyang Ye (0000-0003-2872-824X, Brown University) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 133 |
| Issue | 654 |
| Pages | 2533-2552 |
| Publication date | 2023-07-25 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Economic Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0013-0133 • E-ISSN: 1468-0297 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/ej/uead037 |
| OpenAlex | W4377224364 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 30 |
We experimentally test how psychological motivations can impact the processing of purely objective information. We first document that, when the high-stakes College Entrance Exam is held in the month of Ramadan, Chinese Muslim students perform significantly worse. When asked about the impact of fasting, they severely underestimate the cost of taking the exam during Ramadan, even when presented with direct empirical evidence. In the experiment, we randomly offer students reading materials in which well-respected Muslim clerics explain that it is permissible to postpone the fast until after the exam. Consistent with an interpretation of motivated cognition, students who receive the material distort the statistics about the fasting cost significantly less and become more accepting of delaying the fast for the exam
Cognition · Interpretation (philosophy · Political science · Reading (process · Test (biology · Computer Science · Culture, Economy, and Development Studies · Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies · Islamic Finance and Banking Studies · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology
The Formation of Beliefs
Identity, Morals, and Taboos
Sect, Subsidy, and Sacrifice
Does Religion Affect Economic Growth and Happiness? Evidence from Ramadan
Boomerang Effects in Science Communication
The persistent effects of in utero nutrition shocks over the life cycle
Household Allocation of Time and Church Attendance
Motivated False Memory
Sacrifice and Stigma
In Utero Ramadan Exposure and Children's Academic Performance
What Can We Learn with Statistical Truth Serum
Trends
Statistical Analysis of List Experiments
Mindful Economics
When to Worry about Sensitivity Bias
| Citations per year | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |