Moderation of Preference Reversals in the Long Run

This study explored how preference reversals, induced by changes in response mode (choice vs. pricing), are moderated by how lotteries are represented, as being played 1, 10, or 100 times. Ss chose which of a pair of gambles they preferred to play and determined the minimum selling price of each gamble. Replicating previous research, the preference reversal was obtained for single-play representations: Ss tended to choose the gambles with the higher probabilities of winning, but priced them lower. However, for multiple-play representations, preference reversals were reduced, and consistency between pricing and choice behaviors was increased. Both response modes were sensitive to differences in the expected values of gambles, but sensitivity did not vary significantly with the number of plays. These results support the hypothesis that violations of expected utility theory are reduced for multiple-play gambles.