Eric VanEpps

When people choose from a large set of options, there is likely one that aligns closely with their particular preferences. When there are fewer options, their choice is less likely to reflect a strong opinion—they're just choosing the one that is any amount closer to what they think. This can be misinterpreted, researchers say, as deep enthusiasm. And it can lead to polarization, because people tend to not consider how many options were available when forming an opinion about others' choices. Read More

A new paper, co-authored by Eric M. VanEpps, associate professor of marketing at Vanderbilt Business, shows that a lack of consumer confidence in forecasting ability, instead of pessimism, sways stock market predictions, often pushing estimates too low. In this study, the term consumers refers to ordinary people who are not professional investors or economists; consumer confidence refers to how confident they feel in their own ability to understand and predict the stock market. Read More