The Psychology of Economic Decisions

This volume brings together contributions to the burgeoning research area of behavioural economics from a number of well-known international scholars in the field. Topics covered include 'irrational' conducts; imperfect self-knowledge; imperfect memory; time and utility; and experimental practices in psychology, economics, and finance. The book will provide a point of entry to anyone wishing to investigate the intellectual terrain between economics and psychology.

Informationen zum Autor Isabelle Brocas is at the Department of Economics, Columbia University. She is also a research affiliate at CEPR, and co-editor of the Annals of the Marie Curie Fellows Association.Juan D. Carrillo is Associate Professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Business. He is also a research affiliate at CEPR, and Associate Editor of the Spanish Economic Review. Klappentext Psychologists and economists often ask similar questions about human behaviour. This volume brings together contributions from leaders in both disciplines. The editorial introduction discusses methodological differences between the two which have until now limited the development of mutually beneficial lines of research. Psychologists have objected to what they see as an excessive formalism in economic modelling and an unrealistic degree of sophistication in the behaviour of individuals, while economists criticize the absence of a general psychological framework into which most results can be fitted and the lack of welfare implications in their theories. The editors encourage scholars to exploit the strengths of each discipline - the ability of psychologists to understand the feelings and motivation of individuals; and the experience of economists to develop normative frameworks. The editors then highlight the links between the contributions by grouping them according to central themes in the study of rationality and well-being: 1. The causes and consequences of 'irrational behaviour'; 2. The role of anticipatory feelings and imperfect self-knowledge on decision-making; 3. The way in which memory of past events and cost of thinking affect current decisions; 4. The interaction between anticipated and remembered utility and its effects on the welfare of individuals; 5. Experimental practice on how to perform controlled experiments to test hypotheses. This exciting volume provides an excellent point of entry for anyone interested in the interface between economics and psychology. Zusammenfassung Featuring the contributions to the area of behavioural economics, this volume is for those wishing to investigate the intellectual terrain between economics and psychology. It covers topics such as: 'irrational' conducts; imperfect self-knowledge; imperfect memory; time and utility; and experimental practices in psychology, economics, and finance. Inhaltsverzeichnis Introduction Part I: The Causes and Consequences of 'Irrational' Conducts 1: Roy F. Baumeister: The Psychology of Irrationality: Why people make foolish, self-defeating choices 2: Kent Berridge: Irrational Pursuit: Hyper-incentives from a visceral brain 3: Jonathan W. Schooler, Daniel Ariely, and George Loewenstein: The Pursuit and Assessment of Happiness May Be Self-Defeating Part II: Imperfect Self-Knowledge and the Role of Information 4: Andrew Caplin and John Leahy: Behavioral Policy 5: Isabelle Brocas and Juan D. Carrillo: Information and Self-Control 6: Ronit Bodner and Drazen Prelec: Self-Signaling and Diagnostic Utility in Everyday Decision-Making Part III: Imperfect Memory and Limited Capacity to Process Information 7: Itzhak Gilboa and Eva Gilboa-Schechtman: Mental Accounting and the Absentminded Driver 8: Roland Benabou and Jean Tirole: Self-Knowledge and Self-Regulation: An economic approach 9: Xavier Gabaix and David Laibson: A New Challenge for Economics: 'The frame problem' Part IV: Time and Utility 10: Daniel Kahneman: Experienced Utility and Objective Happiness: A moment-based approach 11: Timothy D. Wilson, Daniel Gilbert, and David B. Centerbar: Making Sense: The causes of emotional evanescence 12: Yaacov Trope and Nira Liberman: Temporal Construal Theory of Time-Dependent Preferences Part V: Experimental Practices in Psychology, Economics, and Finance 13: Ralph Hertwig...

Autorentext
Isabelle Brocas is at the Department of Economics, Columbia University. She is also a research affiliate at CEPR, and co-editor of the Annals of the Marie Curie Fellows Association. Juan D. Carrillo is Associate Professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Business. He is also a research affiliate at CEPR, and Associate Editor of the Spanish Economic Review.

Klappentext

Psychologists and economists often ask similar questions about human behaviour. This volume brings together contributions from leaders in both disciplines.

The editorial introduction discusses methodological differences between the two which have until now limited the development of mutually beneficial lines of research. Psychologists have objected to what they see as an excessive formalism in economic modelling and an unrealistic degree of sophistication in the behaviour of individuals, while economists criticize the absence of a general psychological framework into which most results can be fitted and the lack of welfare implications in their theories. The editors encourage scholars to exploit the strengths of each discipline - the ability of psychologists to understand the feelings and motivation of individuals; and the experience of economists to develop normative frameworks.

The editors then highlight the links between the contributions by grouping them according to central themes in the study of rationality and well-being:

1. The causes and consequences of 'irrational behaviour';
2. The role of anticipatory feelings and imperfect self-knowledge on decision-making;
3. The way in which memory of past events and cost of thinking affect current decisions;
4. The interaction between anticipated and remembered utility and its effects on the welfare of individuals;
5. Experimental practice on how to perform controlled experiments to test hypotheses.

This exciting volume provides an excellent point of entry for anyone interested in the interface between economics and psychology.

Zusammenfassung
Featuring the contributions to the area of behavioural economics, this volume is for those wishing to investigate the intellectual terrain between economics and psychology. It covers topics such as: 'irrational' conducts; imperfect self-knowledge; imperfect memory; time and utility; and experimental practices in psychology, economics, and finance.

Inhalt

• Introduction

• Part I: The Causes and Consequences of 'Irrational' Conducts

• 1: Roy F. Baumeister: The Psychology of Irrationality: Why people make foolish, self-defeating choices

• 2: Kent Berridge: Irrational Pursuit: Hyper-incentives from a visceral brain

• 3: Jonathan W. Schooler, Daniel Ariely, and George Loewenstein: The Pursuit and Assessment of Happiness May Be Self-Defeating

• Part II: Imperfect Self-Knowledge and the Role of Information

• 4: Andrew Caplin and John Leahy: Behavioral Policy

• 5: Isabelle Brocas and Juan D. Carrillo: Information and Self-Control

• 6: Ronit Bodner and Drazen Prelec: Self-Signaling and Diagnostic Utility in Everyday Decision-Making

• Part III: Imperfect Memory and Limited Capacity to Process Information

• 7: Itzhak Gilboa and Eva Gilboa-Schechtman: Mental Accounting and the Absentminded Driver

• 8: Roland Benabou and Jean Tirole: Self-Knowledge and Self-Regulation: An economic approach

• 9: Xavier Gabaix and David Laibson: A New Challenge for Economics: 'The frame problem'

• Part IV: Time and Utility

• 10: Daniel Kahneman: Experienced Utility and Objective Happiness: A moment-based approach

• 11…