New Paradigms in Myopic Choice

Consumers often appear myopic in intertemporal choices between a smaller, sooner option and a larger, later option. Myopic choices relate to a wide range of consequential impatient behaviors, including health and financial decisions. This session features four papers that move beyond the traditional research paradigms and use novel, interdisciplinary approaches to understand myopic consumer choices. From comparative versus integrative search strategies, to the neglect of duration ratio between present and future events, to surgically-induced biological changes, and anticipated interpersonal consequences, each paper sheds light on a previously unidentified determinant underlying myopic choices. In sum, myopic choices may be improved, these papers suggest, by subtly manipulating information acquisition, highlighting the relative duration of present and future events, weight loss interventions that impact the biological underpinnings of myopic behavior, but not by delegating one's choices to others. In sum, this special session provides new insights into consumer impulsivity and facilitates an interdisciplinary discussion on the topic.