| By: |
Paul Dolan;
Chloe Foy;
Georgios Kavetsos;
Laura Kudrna |
| Abstract: |
How achievement makes people feel depends upon counterfactual thoughts about
what could have been. One body of evidence for this comes from studies of
observer ratings of Olympians' happiness, which suggests that category-based
counterfactual thoughts affect the perceived happiness of Olympians. Silver
medallists are less happy than bronze medallists, arguably because silver
medallists think about how they could have won gold, and bronze medallists
feel lucky to be on the podium at all. We contribute to this literature by
showing that the effect of category-based counterfactual thoughts on
Olympians' happiness depends on the margin by which athletes secured their
medal. Although gold and bronze medallists appeared happier the better they
performed, silver medallists were less happy when they were closer to winning
gold. This suggests silver medallists feel disappointed relative to gold
medallists but that bronzes do not feel particularly fortunate relative to
non-medal winners. Teams were rated as happier than individual athletes and
Olympians happier than Paralympians. Observers' ethnic and gender similarity
to athletes negatively influence happiness ratings; whilst observers'
self-reported happiness has a negligible effect on ratings. We integrate these
findings with prior literature on counterfactual thinking and the determinants
of happiness, and suggest avenues for future research. |
| Keywords: |
counterfactual thinking, close calls, relative status, happiness, Olympic Games |
| JEL: |
D60 I31 |
| Date: |
2016–06 |
| URL: |
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cep:cepdps:dp1436&r=spo |