@techreport{11a84f9ea1cc4986b9272089785cd94d,
title = "A Behavioral Model of Conumption Patterns: The Effects of Cognitive Dissonance and Conformity",
abstract = "Cognitive dissonance causes people to rationalize actions that differ from their own preferences.Conformity, on the other hand, causes people to change their behavior as a result of pressure from others.This paper investigates the consequences of preference dynamic that occur when individuals rationalize their preferences, are conformists and have a minimum consumption constraint.The main results are: (1) Individuals who have a greater tendency toward conformity will rationalize their preferences to a greater degree, (2) Individuals' optimal consumption pattern will be unstable and scatter over time, (3) Average consumption in society will increase along a cyclical path and (4) An increase in either cognitive dissonance or conformity induces greater volatility of average consumption.",
keywords = "rationality, cognitive science, consumption, volatility",
author = "A. Nir",
note = "Pagination: 32",
year = "2004",
language = "English",
volume = "2004-48",
series = "CentER Discussion Paper",
publisher = "Microeconomics",
type = "WorkingPaper",
institution = "Microeconomics",
}