INFORMATION BIAS IN CONTINGENT VALUATION - EFFECTS OF PERSONAL RELEVANCE, QUALITY OF INFORMATION, AND MOTIVATIONAL ORIENTATION

A laboratory experiment examined the potential for information bias in contingent valuation (CV). Consistent with the view that information about a public or private good can function as a persuasive communicat ion, willingness to pay (WTP) was found to increase with the quality o f arguments used to describe the good, especially under conditions of high personal relevance. Under low personal relevance, WTP for a publi c (but not for a private) good was higher when an altruistic, as oppos ed to an individualistic, orientation was activated. It is concluded t hat the nature of the information provided in CV surveys can profoundl y affect WTP estimates, and that subtle contextual cues can seriously bias these estimates under conditions of low personal relevance. (C) 1 996 Academic Press, Inc.