THE RESOLUTION OF UNCERTAINTY - AN EXPERIMENTAL-STUDY

Meaningful decision problems often involve intertemporal choices. In t he case of uncertainty, the resolution of uncertainty is an essential feature of decision alternatives. Early resolution of uncertainty migh t offer planning benefits, late resolution might be preferred for deci sion makers who want to hope as long as possible for a good consequenc e. The focus of this paper is entirely descriptive. We present an expe rimental study investigating subjects' resolution preference. We find that some subjects prefer early and some prefer late resolution of unc ertainty. We also find that this preference systematically depends on the source of utility and on the probabilities involved.