The Focusing Illusion and Happiness: Evidence Using College Basketball Championship

• Main Author: Beja, Edsel L, Jr
• Format: text
• Published: Archīum Ateneo 2014
• Subjects: Happiness; Focusing illusion; Life domains; Spillover; Behavioral Economics; Economics
• Online Access: https://archium.ateneo.edu/economics-faculty-pubs/127; https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11205-014-0667-x
• Institution: Ateneo De Manila University

The analyses of two online surveys involving college students found evidence that using a college basketball championship as focal event resulted in unstable subjective evaluations of happiness. However, the analyses also found that the focusing illusion had modest spillover on subjective evaluations for the other life domains in which a college basketball championship was immaterial in the consideration. The analyses therefore confirmed the separability of subjective evaluations across life domains and sustained their usefulness both as inputs to analysis and yardstick for policy and intervention.