The Economy Looms Larger Than It Used to in Shoppers’ Decisions
A Q&A with Chicago Booth’s Sanjay K. Dhar on how changing household fortunes drive consumer behavior
The Economy Looms Larger Than It Used to in Shoppers’ DecisionsThe Math behind Your Uncashed Checks
- November 23, 2015
- CBR - Behavioral Science
Receiving a check can feel rewarding; the tedious chore of traveling to the bank and cashing it often doesn’t. Individuals who prize immediate gratification tend to be impatient to receive a check, but then put off cashing it. This behavior is confirmed in a field experiment conducted by Columbia University’s Ernesto Reuben, Northwestern’s Paola Sapienza, and Chicago Booth’s Luigi Zingales. In the study, impatient participants chose to receive a check immediately rather than wait to receive a larger check in two weeks, but many then waited more than three weeks to cash it.
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