Correlation neglect in voting decisions: An experiment

We investigate the influence of correlation neglect on information aggregation when a voter has to weigh external information about profitability against her risk preferences. In an online experiment, subjects are members of a group and vote either for a fixed payment or for a lottery of the same expected value. They receive signals which alternative may result in an additional bonus or penalty for their group. Our results suggest that subjects flip their vote because of correlation neglect. •We study the impact of correlation neglect on collective decision-making.•Subjects weigh signals on profitability against their risk preferences.•Correlation neglect is present in a framework with easily visible correlation.•The bias causes subjects to flip their vote and improves efficiency.