Influences of Information and Personal Concerns on Monetary Judgments

Abstract

Previous studies have shown effects of various types of suggestions made by attorneys for developing a metric for damages to be awarded for pain and suffering. This study attempted to use rates set by respondents for their willingness to endure some of the problems of a wheelchair-bound individual as a means of getting the respondents to devise suitable awards for pain and suffering. Experimental subjects were asked how much would be necessary before they would spend a day living in a wheel chair, and control subjects were not. Variability of responses was high for both willingness to accept the wheelchair temporarily and for awards for pain and suffering. Although those who presumably thought about the problem more suggested higher awards, the difference was not statistically reliable. Within the Experimental Group there was a dependably greater amount awarded by those who said they would require larger sums to accept such a situation. Those respondents who were asked to specifiy total amounts suggested dependably lower awards than those who responded in terms of daily amounts. Possible reasons for some to these effects are discussed.