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Different experimental procedures for obtaining valuations of risky actions: Implications for utility theory

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Abstract

Three different methods of obtaining ‘certainty equivalent’ valuations of four simple gambles were used with a sample of 358 people paid entirely according to their decisions. The results caution against oversimplistic utility models, and exhibit various characteristics that invite further investigation, including: a marked tendency to round valuations up or down; a tendency to value riskier actions more highly than less risky actions; and multimodal distributions of valuations which, despite their unusual shape, appeared to constitute an identifiable pattern of behaviour.

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Loomes, G. Different experimental procedures for obtaining valuations of risky actions: Implications for utility theory. Theor Decis 25, 1–23 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00129167

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