CREED Seminars Amsterdam

Speaker(s)
Michele Belot (University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom)
Date
Monday, 18 January 2016
Location
Amsterdam

This paper investigates to what extent behavioural traits, such as patience, risk aversion and self-control are trainable. If they are, this would open new prospects to improve lifestyle choices and health. We conduct a randomised field experiment with 139 subjects to investigate the effects of a psychological training intervention – consisting of mindfulness training – affects patience, risk aversion and self-control. We also measure the effects of the intervention on a range of health-related behaviours. We do not find strong evidence that mindfulness training changes decision-making processes. We find evidence that it reduces reported levels of stress, but the effects on health-related behaviours are mixed.