Management Papers
Title
Is Tiger Woods Loss Averse? Persistent Bias in the Face of Experience, Competition, and High Stakes
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of this Version
2-2011
Publication Source
American Economic Review
Volume
101
Issue
1
Start Page
129
Last Page
157
DOI
10.1257/aer.101.1.129
Abstract
Although experimental studies have documented systematic decision errors, many leading scholars believe that experience, competition, and large stakes will reliably extinguish biases. We test for the presence of a fundamental bias, loss aversion, in a high-stakes context: professional golfers' performance on the PGA Tour. Golf provides a natural setting to test for loss aversion because golfers are rewarded for the total number of strokes they take during a tournament, yet each individual hole has a salient reference point, par. We analyze over 2.5 million putts using precise laser measurements and find evidence that even the best golfers—including Tiger Woods—show evidence of loss aversion.
Copyright/Permission Statement
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Recommended Citation
Pope, D., & Schweitzer, M. E. (2011). Is Tiger Woods Loss Averse? Persistent Bias in the Face of Experience, Competition, and High Stakes. American Economic Review, 101 (1), 129-157. http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/aer.101.1.129
Date Posted: 19 February 2018
This document has been peer reviewed.