American Economic Review
ISSN 0002-8282 (Print) | ISSN 1944-7981 (Online)
The Attention-Information Trade-Off
American Economic Review
(pp. 1579–1610)
Abstract
How does information transmission change when it requires attracting the attention of receivers? This paper combines an experiment that varies freelance professionals' incentives to attract attention about scientific findings, with several online experiments that exogenously expose receivers to the content created. Attention incentives lead to significantly less information being transmitted, but not more factually inaccurate content. These incentives increase information demand and the knowledge of interested receivers. However, among the majority of receivers who do not demand more information, attention incentives lower knowledge and increase biases in beliefs, revealing a channel through which misperceptions can arise: missing information.Citation
Serra-Garcia, Marta. 2026. "The Attention-Information Trade-Off." American Economic Review 116 (5): 1579–1610. DOI: 10.1257/aer.20240850Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- C91 Design of Experiments: Laboratory, Individual
- D83 Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
- D91 Micro-Based Behavioral Economics: Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making