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Planned vs. Actual Attention

Author

Listed:
  • Ala Avoyan

    (Department of Economics, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405)

  • Mauricio Ribeiro

    (School of Economics, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TU, United Kingdom)

  • Andrew Schotter

    (School of Economics, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TU, United Kingdom; Department of Economics, New York University, New York, New York 10003)

  • Elizabeth R. Schotter

    (Department of Psychology, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33620)

  • Mehrdad Vaziri

    (School of Geosciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33620)

  • Minghao Zou

    (Department of Economics, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08540)

Abstract

People often need to plan how to allocate their attention across different tasks. In this paper, we run two experiments to study a stylized version of this attention-allocation problem between strategic tasks. More specifically, we present subjects with pairs of 2 × 2 games, and for each pair, we give them 10 seconds to decide how they would split a fixed time budget between the two games. Then, subjects play both games without time constraints, and we use eye-tracking to estimate the fraction of time they spend on each game. We find that subjects’ planned and actual attention allocation differ and identify the determinants of this mismatch. Further, we argue that misallocations can be relevant in games in which a player’s strategy choice is sensitive to the time taken to reach a decision.

Suggested Citation

  • Ala Avoyan & Mauricio Ribeiro & Andrew Schotter & Elizabeth R. Schotter & Mehrdad Vaziri & Minghao Zou, 2024. "Planned vs. Actual Attention," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 70(5), pages 2912-2933, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormnsc:v:70:y:2024:i:5:p:2912-2933
    DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2023.4834
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