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Illusion of control and the pursuit of authority

Author

Listed:
  • Randolph Sloof

    (University of Amsterdam
    Tinbergen Institute)

  • Ferdinand A. Siemens

    (Goethe University Frankfurt
    CESifo)

Abstract

We measure participants’ willingness to pay for transparently useless authority—the right to make a completely uninformed task decision. We further elicit participants’ beliefs about receiving their preferred outcome if they make the decision themselves, and if another participant makes the decision for them. We find that participants pay more to make the decision themselves if they also believe that they can thus increase the probability of getting their preferred outcome. Illusion of control therefore exists in a controlled laboratory environment with monetary incentives and is connected to peoples’ pursuit of authority.

Suggested Citation

  • Randolph Sloof & Ferdinand A. Siemens, 2017. "Illusion of control and the pursuit of authority," Experimental Economics, Springer;Economic Science Association, vol. 20(3), pages 556-573, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:expeco:v:20:y:2017:i:3:d:10.1007_s10683-016-9499-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s10683-016-9499-7
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    2. Jean-Pierre Benoît & Juan Dubra & Giorgia Romagnoli, 2022. "Belief Elicitation When More than Money Matters: Controlling for "Control"," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 14(3), pages 837-888, August.
    3. Hausfeld, Jan & Fischbacher, Urs & Knoch, Daria, 2020. "The value of decision-making power in social decisions," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 177(C), pages 898-912.
    4. Antonio Estache & Renaud Foucart & Konstantinos Georgalos, 2024. "Preference for Control vs. Random Dictatorship," Working Papers 413554011, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department.
    5. Elias Bouacida & Renaud Foucart & Maya Jalloul, 2024. "Decreasing Differences in Expert Advice," Working Papers 408394204, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department.
    6. Pinger, Pia & Schäfer, Sebastian & Schumacher, Heiner, 2018. "Locus of control and consistent investment choices," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 66-75.
    7. Jana Freundt & Holger Herz, 2024. "From Partisanship to Preference: How Identity Shapes Dependence Aversion," CESifo Working Paper Series 11304, CESifo.
    8. Enrique Fatas & Antonio J. Morales, 2018. "The joy of ruling: an experimental investigation on collective giving," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 85(2), pages 179-200, August.
    9. Björn Bartling & Alexander W. Cappelen & Henning Hermes & Marit Skivenes & Bertil Tungodden, 2023. "Free to fail? Paternalistic preferences in the United States," ECON - Working Papers 436, Department of Economics - University of Zurich.
    10. Klockmann, Victor & von Schenk, Alicia, 2023. "Patronizing behavior in heterogeneous teams: A laboratory experiment," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    11. Pikulina, Elena S. & Tergiman, Chloe, 2020. "Preferences for power," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    12. Elias Bouacida & Renaud Foucart, 2022. "Rituals of Reason," Working Papers 344119591, Lancaster University Management School, Economics Department.
    13. Klockmann, Victor & von Schenk, Alicia & von Siemens, Ferdinand A., 2021. "Division of labor and the organization of knowledge in production: A laboratory experiment," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 196-210.
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    15. Xu, Zhicheng, 2023. "Obedience to the symbol of authority: Experimental evidence on the symbolic source of legitimate authority," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Control preferences; Illusion of control; Allocation of decision rights;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C91 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Laboratory, Individual Behavior
    • D23 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Organizational Behavior; Transaction Costs; Property Rights
    • D80 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - General

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