Coarse Thinking and Persuasion

Sendhil Mullainathan, Joshua Schwartzstein () and Andrei Shleifer

No 12720, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

Abstract: We present a model of coarse thinking, in which individuals group situations into categories, and transfer the informational content of a given message from situations in a category where it is useful to those where it is not. The model explains how uninformative messages can be persuasive, particularly in low involvement situations, and how objectively informative messages can be dropped by the persuader without the audience assuming the worst. The model sheds light on product branding, the structure of product attributes, and several puzzling aspects of mutual fund advertising.

JEL-codes: G23 L15 M31 M37 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2006-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-mkt
Note: AP CF IO
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (79)

Published as Sendhil Mullainathan & Joshua Schwartzstein & Andrei Shleifer, 2008. "Coarse Thinking and Persuasion," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 123(2), pages 577-619, 05.

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