Choice and Self: How Synchronic and Diachronic Identity Shape Choices and Decision Making

Marketing Letters, 25(3), 281-291, 2014

20 Pages Posted: 18 Feb 2016

See all articles by Oleg Urminsky

Oleg Urminsky

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business

Daniel M. Bartels

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business

Paola Giuliano

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Anderson School of Management; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

George Newman

Yale School of Management

S. Puntoni

University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School

Lance Rips

Northwestern University

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

Date Written: 2014

Abstract

Research on the role of identity in choice varies widely across fields like psychology, philosophy, consumer behavior, and economics, in both the key questions addressed and the methods of investigation. Although a large literature has established how salient aspects of identity affect attitudes and norms, less is known about how beliefs concerning identity are shaped and how these beliefs affect decision making. In this review, we cover recent insights into these issues and summarize some newer, developing approaches to understanding (i) how people judge the persistence of identity, (ii) how beliefs about future changes in identity are formed and how they affect choices, (iii) the formation of beliefs about future changes in identity and how these beliefs affect decisions, (iv) the historical and economic antecedents of identity norms and their consequences for economic behavior. We introduce a distinction between synchronic and diachronic approaches, and highlight important unresolved questions that will help these fields to more fully understand the role that identity plays in shaping choices.

Keywords: personal identity, social identity, decision-making

Suggested Citation

Urminsky, Oleg and Bartels, Daniel M. and Giuliano, Paola and Newman, George and Puntoni, Stefano and Rips, Lance, Choice and Self: How Synchronic and Diachronic Identity Shape Choices and Decision Making (2014). Marketing Letters, 25(3), 281-291, 2014, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2733278

Oleg Urminsky (Contact Author)

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business ( email )

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Daniel M. Bartels

University of Chicago - Booth School of Business ( email )

5807 S. Woodlawn Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637
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Paola Giuliano

University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) - Anderson School of Management ( email )

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Los Angeles, CA 90095-1481
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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ( email )

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Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) ( email )

London
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IZA Institute of Labor Economics

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George Newman

Yale School of Management ( email )

135 Prospect Street
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New Haven, CT 06520-8200
United States

Stefano Puntoni

University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School

Lance Rips

Northwestern University ( email )

2001 Sheridan Road
Evanston, IL 60208
United States

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