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States of nature and states of mind: a generalized theory of decision-making

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

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States of nature and states of mind: a generalized theory of decision-making. / Embrey, Iain.
In: Theory and Decision, Vol. 88, No. 1, 01.02.2020, p. 5-35.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Harvard

Embrey, I 2020, 'States of nature and states of mind: a generalized theory of decision-making', Theory and Decision, vol. 88, no. 1, pp. 5-35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11238-019-09705-8

APA

Embrey, I. (2020). States of nature and states of mind: a generalized theory of decision-making. Theory and Decision, 88(1), 5-35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11238-019-09705-8

Vancouver

Embrey I. States of nature and states of mind: a generalized theory of decision-making. Theory and Decision. 2020 Feb 1;88(1):5-35. Epub 2019 May 10. doi: 10.1007/s11238-019-09705-8

Author

Embrey, Iain. / States of nature and states of mind : a generalized theory of decision-making. In: Theory and Decision. 2020 ; Vol. 88, No. 1. pp. 5-35.

Bibtex

@article{866e0965400c47fc9711b62dee91f7b4,
title = "States of nature and states of mind: a generalized theory of decision-making",
abstract = "Canonical economic agents act so as to maximize a single, representative, utility function. However, there is accumulating evidence that heterogeneity in thought processes may be an important determinant of individual behavior. This paper investigates the implications of a vector-valued generalization of the Expected Utility paradigm, which permits agents either to deliberate as per Homo economics, or to act impulsively. This generalized decision theory is applied to explain the crowding-out effect, irrational educational investment decisions, persistent social inequalities, the pervasive influence of non-cognitive ability on socio-economic outcomes, and the dynamic relationships between non-cognitive ability, cognitive ability, and behavioral biases. These results suggest that the generalized decision theory warrants further investigation.",
keywords = "Decision theory, Dual-self, Behavioral anomalies, Human capital, Social exclusion, Unemployment",
author = "Iain Embrey",
year = "2020",
month = feb,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1007/s11238-019-09705-8",
language = "English",
volume = "88",
pages = "5--35",
journal = "Theory and Decision",
issn = "0040-5833",
publisher = "Springer Netherlands",
number = "1",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - States of nature and states of mind

T2 - a generalized theory of decision-making

AU - Embrey, Iain

PY - 2020/2/1

Y1 - 2020/2/1

N2 - Canonical economic agents act so as to maximize a single, representative, utility function. However, there is accumulating evidence that heterogeneity in thought processes may be an important determinant of individual behavior. This paper investigates the implications of a vector-valued generalization of the Expected Utility paradigm, which permits agents either to deliberate as per Homo economics, or to act impulsively. This generalized decision theory is applied to explain the crowding-out effect, irrational educational investment decisions, persistent social inequalities, the pervasive influence of non-cognitive ability on socio-economic outcomes, and the dynamic relationships between non-cognitive ability, cognitive ability, and behavioral biases. These results suggest that the generalized decision theory warrants further investigation.

AB - Canonical economic agents act so as to maximize a single, representative, utility function. However, there is accumulating evidence that heterogeneity in thought processes may be an important determinant of individual behavior. This paper investigates the implications of a vector-valued generalization of the Expected Utility paradigm, which permits agents either to deliberate as per Homo economics, or to act impulsively. This generalized decision theory is applied to explain the crowding-out effect, irrational educational investment decisions, persistent social inequalities, the pervasive influence of non-cognitive ability on socio-economic outcomes, and the dynamic relationships between non-cognitive ability, cognitive ability, and behavioral biases. These results suggest that the generalized decision theory warrants further investigation.

KW - Decision theory

KW - Dual-self

KW - Behavioral anomalies

KW - Human capital

KW - Social exclusion

KW - Unemployment

U2 - 10.1007/s11238-019-09705-8

DO - 10.1007/s11238-019-09705-8

M3 - Journal article

VL - 88

SP - 5

EP - 35

JO - Theory and Decision

JF - Theory and Decision

SN - 0040-5833

IS - 1

ER -