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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(1,810)
- People (1)
- News (359)
- Research (1,233)
- Events (8)
- Multimedia (13)
- Faculty Publications (754)
- 2010
- Working Paper
Conveniently Upset: Avoiding Altruism by Distorting Beliefs about Others
By: Rafael Di Tella and Ricardo Perez-Truglia
In this paper we present the results from a "corruption game" (a dictator game modified so that the second player can accept a side payment that reduces the overall size of the pie). Dictators (silently) treated to have the possibility of taking a larger proportion of... View Details
Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Judgments; Fairness; Values and Beliefs; Game Theory; Personal Characteristics
Di Tella, Rafael, and Ricardo Perez-Truglia. "Conveniently Upset: Avoiding Altruism by Distorting Beliefs about Others." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 16645, December 2010.
- May 2025
- Article
Imagining the Future: Memory, Simulation and Beliefs
By: Pedro Bordalo, Giovanni Burro, Katherine B. Coffman, Nicola Gennaioli and Andrei Shleifer
How do people form beliefs about novel risks, with which they have little or no experience? Motivated by survey data on beliefs about Covid we collected in 2020, we build a model based on the psychology of selective memory. When a person thinks about an event,... View Details
Bordalo, Pedro, Giovanni Burro, Katherine B. Coffman, Nicola Gennaioli, and Andrei Shleifer. "Imagining the Future: Memory, Simulation and Beliefs." Review of Economic Studies 92, no. 3 (May 2025): 1532–1563.
- Article
Origins of the Belief in Good True Selves
By: Julian De Freitas, Mina Cikara, Igor Grossman and Rebecca Schlegel
Despite differences in beliefs about the self across cultures and relevant individual differences, recent evidence suggests that people universally believe in a ‘true self’ that is morally good. We propose that this belief arises from a general tendency: psychological... View Details
De Freitas, Julian, Mina Cikara, Igor Grossman, and Rebecca Schlegel. "Origins of the Belief in Good True Selves." Trends in Cognitive Sciences 21, no. 9 (September 2017): 634–636.
- 2006
- Working Paper
On the Origin of Shared Beliefs (and Corporate Culture)
This paper shows why members of an organization often share similar beliefs. I argue that there are two mechanisms. First, when performance depends on making correct decisions, people prefer to work with others who share their beliefs and assumptions, since such... View Details
Van den Steen, Eric J. "On the Origin of Shared Beliefs (and Corporate Culture)." Sloan School of Management Working Paper, No. 4553-05, January 2006. (Available at SSRN.)
- Article
How Beliefs about Self-creation Inflate Value in the Human Brain
By: Raphael Koster, Tali Sharot, Rachel Yuan, Benedetto De Martino, Michael I. Norton and Raymond J. Dolan
Humans have a tendency to overvalue their own ideas and creations. Understanding how these errors in judgement emerge is important for explaining suboptimal decisions, as when individuals and groups choose self-created alternatives over superior or equal ones. We show... View Details
Koster, Raphael, Tali Sharot, Rachel Yuan, Benedetto De Martino, Michael I. Norton, and Raymond J. Dolan. "How Beliefs about Self-creation Inflate Value in the Human Brain." Art. 473. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 9 (September 2015): 1–10.
- Article
Consistent Belief in a Good True Self in Misanthropes and Three Interdependent Cultures
By: Julian De Freitas, Hagop Sarkissian, George E. Newman, Igor Grossman, Felipe De Brigard, Andres Luco and Joshua Knobe
People sometimes explain behavior by appealing to an essentialist concept of the self, often
referred to as the true self. Existing studies suggest that people tend to believe that the true self is
morally virtuous; that is deep inside, every person is motivated to... View Details
Keywords: Concepts; Social Cognition; Moral Reasoning; True Self; Culture; Misanthropy; Behavior; Values and Beliefs; Moral Sensibility
De Freitas, Julian, Hagop Sarkissian, George E. Newman, Igor Grossman, Felipe De Brigard, Andres Luco, and Joshua Knobe. "Consistent Belief in a Good True Self in Misanthropes and Three Interdependent Cultures." Cognitive Science 42, no. S1 (2018): 134–160.
- 31 Oct 2017
- News
Belief in a Noble ‘True Self’ May Help Heal Our Divisions
- 2015
- Working Paper
Blinded by Experience: Prior Experience, Negative News and Belief Updating
By: Bradley R. Staats, Diwas S. KC and Francesca Gino
Traditional models of operations management involve dynamic decision-making assuming optimal (Bayesian) updating. However, behavioral theory suggests that individuals exhibit bias in their beliefs and decisions. We conduct both a field study and two laboratory studies... View Details
Keywords: Behavioral Operations; Egocentric Bias; Experience; Healthcare Operations; Prejudice and Bias; Behavior; Operations; Decision Making; Health Care and Treatment
Staats, Bradley R., Diwas S. KC, and Francesca Gino. "Blinded by Experience: Prior Experience, Negative News and Belief Updating." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 16-015, August 2015.
- 2017
- Working Paper
Biased Beliefs About Random Samples: Evidence from Two Integrated Experiments
By: Daniel J. Benjamin, Don A. Moore and Matthew Rabin
This paper describes results of a pair of incentivized experiments on biases in judgments about random samples. Consistent with the Law of Small Numbers (LSN), participants exaggerated the likelihood that short sequences and random subsets of coin flips would be... View Details
Benjamin, Daniel J., Don A. Moore, and Matthew Rabin. "Biased Beliefs About Random Samples: Evidence from Two Integrated Experiments." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 23927, October 2017.
- 11 Aug 2014
- Working Paper Summaries
Decision Making Under Information Asymmetry: Experimental Evidence on Belief Refinements
Keywords: by William Schmidt & Ryan W. Buell
- 2015
- Article
Beliefs About the True Self Explain Asymmetries Based on Moral Judgment
By: George E. Newman, Julian De Freitas and Joshua Knobe
Past research has identified a number of asymmetries based on moral judgments. Beliefs about
(a) what a person values, (b) whether a person is happy, (c) whether a person has shown weakness
of will, and (d) whether a person deserves praise or blame seem to depend... View Details
Keywords: Concepts; Social Cognition; Moral Reasoning; True Self; Values; Weakness Of Will; Blame; Values and Beliefs; Identity; Moral Sensibility; Happiness
Newman, George E., Julian De Freitas, and Joshua Knobe. "Beliefs About the True Self Explain Asymmetries Based on Moral Judgment." Cognitive Science 39, no. 1 (2015): 96–125.
- 2008
- Working Paper
Reality versus Propaganda in the Formation of Beliefs about Privatization
By: Rafael Di Tella, Sebastian Galiani and Ernesto Schargrodsky
Argentina privatized most public utilities during the 1990s but re-nationalized the main water company in 2006. We study beliefs about the benefits of the privatization of water services amongst low and middle income groups immediately after the 2006 nationalization.... View Details
Keywords: Privatization; Public Ownership; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Values and Beliefs; Public Opinion; Utilities Industry; Argentina
Di Tella, Rafael, Sebastian Galiani, and Ernesto Schargrodsky. "Reality versus Propaganda in the Formation of Beliefs about Privatization." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 14483, November 2008.
- 26 Jan 2011
- Working Paper Summaries
Conveniently Upset: Avoiding Altruism by Distorting Beliefs about Others
- October 24, 2023
- Article
10 Beliefs That Get in the Way of Organizational Change
By: Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss
In their new book, Move Fast and Fix Things, Frances Frei and Anne Morriss outline five strategies to help leaders tackle their hardest problems and quickly make change. Their final strategy is to execute your plan with a sense of urgency. They argue that most... View Details
Frei, Frances X., and Anne Morriss. "10 Beliefs That Get in the Way of Organizational Change." Harvard Business Review (website) (October 24, 2023).
- 2024
- Working Paper
What Drives Variation in Investor Portfolios? Estimating the Roles of Beliefs and Risk Preferences
By: Mark Egan, Alexander MacKay and Hanbin Yang
We present an empirical model of portfolio choice that allows for the nonparametric estimation of investors' (subjective) expectations and risk preferences. Utilizing a comprehensive dataset of 401(k) plans from 2009 through 2019, we explore heterogeneity in asset... View Details
Keywords: Stock Market Expectations; Demand Estimation; Retirement Planning; Defined Contribution Retirement Plan; 401 (K); Finance; Investment Portfolio; Investment; Retirement; Behavioral Finance; Financial Services Industry; United States
Egan, Mark, Alexander MacKay, and Hanbin Yang. "What Drives Variation in Investor Portfolios? Estimating the Roles of Beliefs and Risk Preferences." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 22-044, December 2021. (Revisions Requested at the Review of Financial Studies. Revised April 2024. Direct download. NBER Working Paper Series, No. 29604, December 2021)
- Article
Naturals and Strivers: Preferences and Beliefs about Sources of Achievement
By: Chia-Jung Tsay and Mahzarin R. Banaji
To understand how talent and achievement are perceived, three experiments compared the assessments of "naturals" and "strivers." Professional musicians learned about two pianists, equal in achievement but who varied in the source of achievement: the "natural" with... View Details
- summer 1990
- Article
Retraining Mid-career Managers: Career History and Self-efficacy Beliefs
By: Linda A. Hill and J. Elias
Hill, Linda A., and J. Elias. "Retraining Mid-career Managers: Career History and Self-efficacy Beliefs." Human Resource Management 29, no. 2 (summer 1990): 197–218.
- November 2017
- Comment
Discussion: Do Common Inherited Beliefs and Values Influence CEO Pay?
By: Lauren Cohen
The origin of preferences is something we know strikingly little about in economics. Given the central importance of preferences, we have not invested nearly the time we should into this concept. And so, as an overarching research direction, I am heartened by the push... View Details
Cohen, Lauren. "Discussion: Do Common Inherited Beliefs and Values Influence CEO Pay?" Journal of Accounting & Economics 64, nos. 2-3 (November 2017): 368–370.