The NEW New Economics of Information

Renowned behavioral economist and CMU Professor George Loewenstein will present findings from new lines of research, all dealing with the psychology and economics of information, and all of it challenging traditional economic accounts of how people deal with information. In some cases, motivated by curiosity, people seek out information that has no value for decision making. In other situations, if it threatens to be painful, people avoid information that could inform decisions. And, rather than updating their beliefs rationally, people often defend their beliefs as they would defend material possessions.