USF St. Petersburg campus Faculty Publications
The psychology of windfall gains.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1994
ISSN
0749-5978
Abstract
We hypothesized that windfall gains are spent more readily than other types of assets. Three questionnaire studies supported this hypothesis and led us to the conclusion that the unanticipated nature of windfall gains is responsible for their heightened proclivity to be spent. We then tested this hypothesis in two studies using actual money. In both studies using money, one group of students was told I to 5 days before an experiment that they would be paid for their participation, whereas another group was told about the money only after they arrived at the experiment. In the first of the cash studies, those who were given no forewarning of the money bet significantly more during a gambling game than did those who anticipated the payment. In the second cash study, those who did not anticipate the money spent more money at a basketball game than did those who anticipated the money. We relate the results of these studies to economic theories and to theories of choice.
Language
en_US
Publisher
Academic Press
Recommended Citation
Arkes, H. R., Joyner, C. A., Pezzo, M. V., Gradwohl-Nash, J., Siegel-Jacobs, K., & Stone, E. (1994). The psychology of windfall gains. Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes, 59, 331-347. doi: 10.1006/obhd.1994.1063
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Comments
Citation only. Full-text article is available through licensed access provided by the publisher. Members of the USF System may access the full-text of the article through the authenticated link provided.