We present survey evidence that most people prefer Friday to Sunday. Moreover, we pit against one another two explanations for this fact, the joy of anticipation hypothesis and the Weber law. According to the joy of anticipation hypothesis, Friday promises a weekend ahead, and Sunday does not. The Weber law predicts a relative decrease in the perception of interesting new events as the weekend passes, contributing to the impression that time is shortened as Sunday comes. Our findings favour the joy of anticipation hypothesis. JEL: D91, D15
We present survey evidence that most people prefer Friday to Sunday. Moreover, we pit against one another two explanations for this fact, the joy of anticipation hypothesis and the Weber law. According to the joy of anticipation hypothesis, Friday promises a weekend ahead, and Sunday does not. The Weber law predicts a relative decrease in the perception of interesting new events as the weekend passes, contributing to the impression that time wanes as Sunday comes. Our findings favor the joy of anticipation hypothesis.
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