Economic Behaviour from a Biological and Psychological Approach
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.19053/01203053.v40.n72.2021.12474Keywords:
behaviour, economics, biology, psychology, preferences, beliefs, heuristic, evolutionism, adaptability, happiness, inequalityAbstract
This paper explores some principles of economic behaviour from a biological and psychological perspective, through a reflective analysis on the feasibility of understanding economic actions of individuals from a review of features of non-economic sciences. Emotions are emphasized as important factors in decision-making. Understanding these reasons helps improve the design and evaluation of public policies and investment decisions; furthermore, it is shown that the context of inequality and happiness affects the formation of the heuristic judgment.
Downloads
References
Arrow, K. (1982). Risk Perception in Psychology and Economics. Economic Inquiry, 20(1), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1465-7295.1982.tb01138.x
Bechara, A., Damasio, H., Tranel, D. & Damasio, A. R. (1997). Deciding Advantageously Before Knowing the Advantageous Strategy. Science, 275(5304), 1293-1295. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.275.5304.1293
Bergman, D. C. (1998). Evolutionary Aspects of Learning: The Interface Between Fitness and Action. In Proceedings of the 7th International Behavioral Ecology Congress.
Bernoulli, D. (1954, January). Exposition of a New Theory on the Measurement of Risk. Econometrica, 22(1), 23-36. https://doi.org/10.2307/1909829
Bjorklund, D. (2000). Children’s Thinking: Developmental Function and Individual Differences. Wadsworth.
Bjorklund, D. & Pellegrini, A. (2002). The Origins of Human Nature: Evolutionary Developmental Psychology. American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/10425-000
Camerer, C. (1996). Rules for Experimenting in Psychology and Economics, and Why They Differ. In W. Albers et al. (eds), Understanding Strategic Interaction (pp. 313-327). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-60495-9_25
Camerer, C., Loewenstein, G. & Prelec, D. (2005). Neuroeconomics: How Neuroscience can Inform Economics. Journal of Economic Literature, 43(1), 9-64. https://doi.org/10.1257/0022051053737843
Camerer, C. & Lovallo, D. (1999). Overconfidence and Excess Entry: An Experimental Approach. The American Economic Review, 29(1), 306-318. https://doi.org/10.1257/aer.89.1.306
Cerda, A. A., García, L. Y., Ortega-Farías, S., & M. Ubilla, A. (2012). Consumer Preferences and Willingness to Pay for Organic Apples. Ciencia e Investigación Agraria, 39(1), 47-59. https://doi.org/10.4067/S0718-16202012000100004
Clapp, J. & McDonnell, A. (2000). The Relationship of Perceptions of Alcohol Promotion and Peer Drinking Norms to Alcohol Problems Reported by College Students. Journal of College Student Development, 41, 19-26.
Damasio, A. (1994). Descartes’ Error. Avon Books.
Darwin, C. (1872). The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. John Murray. https://doi.org/10.1037/10001-000
De Martino, B., Kumaran, D., Seymour, B., & Dolan, R. (2006). Frames, Biases, and Rational Decision-Making in The Human Brain. Science, 313, 684–687.
Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística -DANE-. (2017). Estadísticas de pobreza multidimensional del DANE. DANE.
Dolan, P., Hallsworth, M., Halpern, D., King, D., Metcalfe, R. & Vlaev, I. (2012, February). Influencing Behaviour: The Mindspace Way. Journal of Economic Psychology, 33(1), 264-277. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2011.10.009
Flores, L. & Ostroksy-Solís, F. (2008). Neuropsicología de lóbulos frontales, funciones ejecutivas y conducta humana. Revista Neuropsicología, Neuropsiquiatría y Neurociencias, 8(1), 47-58.
Fodor, J. (2000). The Mind Doesn’t Work That Way: The Scope and Limits of Computational Psychology. MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/4627.001.0001
Geary, D. C. & Huffman, K. J. (2002). Brain and Cognitive Evolution: Forms of Modularity and Functions of Brain. Psychological Bulletin, 128(5), 667-698. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.128.5.667
Genesove, D. & Mayer, C. (2001). Loss Aversion and Seller Behavior: Evidence from the Housing Market. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 116(4), 1233-1260. https://doi.org/10.1162/003355301753265561
Gilbert, T. (1989). Thinking Lightly About Others: Automatic Components of the Social Inference Process. In J. S. Uleman & J. A. Bargh (eds.), Unintended Thought. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs.
González, J. I. (2011). Psicología, biología y economía. Suma de Negocios, 2(2), 7-16.
Hatton MacDonald, D., Morrison, M. & Barnes, M. (2010). Willingness to Pay and Willingness to Accept Compensation for Changes in Urban Water Customer Service Standards. Water Resources Management, 24, 3145-3158. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-010-9599-7
Hernández-Blasi, C., Bering, J. & Bjorklund, D. F. (2003). Psicología evolucionista del desarrollo: contemplando la ontogénesis humana desde los ojos del evolucionismo. Infancia y Aprendizaje, 26(3), 267-285. https://doi.org/10.1174/021037003322299043
Hernández , I. (2010). Economía evolucionista y Darwin. Acta Biológica Colombiana.
Hernández, I. (2011). Desigualdad, felicidad y la economía evolucionista. En V. A. Papini (ed.), Darwin y las ciencias del comportamiento (pp. 301-310). Universidad Nacional de Colombia.
Hodgson, G. (1993). Institutional Economics: Surveying the ‘Old’ and the ‘New’. Metroeconomica, 44(1),1-28. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-999X.1993.tb00786.x
Hogdson, G. (1997). The evolutionary and Non-Darwinian Economics of Joseph Schumpeter. Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 7, 131-145. https://doi.org/10.1007/s001910050038
Kahneman, D. (1994). New Challenges to the Rationality Assumption. In New Challenges to the Rationality Assumption (pp. 18-36). https://www.jstor.org/stable/40753012
Kahneman, D. (2000). Evaluation by Moments: Past and Future. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511803475.039
Kahneman, D. (2002). Conference: The American Economic Review. American Psychologist, 93(5), 1449-1475. https://doi.org/10.1257/000282803322655392
Kahneman, D. & Frederick, S. (2005). A Model of Heuristic Judgment. In K. J. Holyoak & R. G. Morrison (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Thinking and Reasoning (pp. 267-293). Cambridge University Press.
Kahneman, D. & Lovallo, D. (1993). Timid Choices and Bold Forecasts: A Cognitive Perspective on Risk Taking. Management Science, 39(1), 17-31. https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.39.1.17
Kahneman, D. & Tversky, A. (1979). Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decisions Under Risk. Econometrica, 47(2), 313-327. https://doi.org/10.2307/1914185
Kahneman, D. & Tversky, A. (1982). The Psychology of Preferences. Scientific American, 246, 160-173. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0182-160
Kahneman, D., Wakker, P. P. & Sarin, R. (1997, May). Back to Bentham? Explorations of Experienced Utility. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 112(2), 375-405.
Kusev, P., Van Schaik, P., Ayton, P., Dent, J., & Chater, N. (2009). Exaggerated Risk: Prospect Theory and Probability Weighting in Risky Choice. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory and Cognition, 35(6), 1487-1505.
https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017039
Lagos, M. (2016). La confianza en América Latina. Latinobarómetro Opinión Pública Latinoamericana. www.latinobarometro.com
La Rocca, S. M. (2003). Física, biología... ¿y después? Actas de las IX Jornadas de Epistemología de las Ciencias Económicas y IV Simposio de la Sociedad
Iberoamericana de Metodología de la Economía. Facultad de Ciencias Económicas Universidad de Buenos Aires.
Lerner, J. S. (1999). Accounting for the Effects of Accountability. Psychological Bulletin, 125(2). https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.125.2.255
Lichtenstein, S., Slovic, P., Fischhoff, B., Layman, M., & Combs, B. (1978). Judged Frequency of Lethal Events. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, 4(6), 551-578. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-7393.4.6.551
Loewenstein, G. & Prelec, D. (1992). Anomalies in Intertemporal Choice: Evidence and an Interpretation. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 107(2), 573-597. https://doi.org/10.2307/2118482
Loewenstein, G., Weber, E. U., & Hsee, C. K. (2001). Risk as Feelings. Psychological Bulletin, 127(2), 267-286. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.127.2.267
Mantzavinos, C., North, D. & Shariq, S. (2004). Learning, Institutions, and Economic Performance. Perspectives on Politics, 2(1), 75-84. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1537592704000635
Masera, G. (2013, dic.). Evolucionismo histórico y biológico. En el debate económico contemporáneo. Filosofía de la Economía,1(2), 69-87.
McClure, S. M., Ericson, K. M., Laibson, D. I., Loewenstein, G., & Cohen, J. D. (2007). Time Discounting for Primary Rewards. Journal of Neuroscience, 27, 5796-5804.
McClure, S. M., Laibson, D. I., Loewenstein, G., & Cohen, J. D. (2004). Separate Neural Systems Value Immediate and Delayed Monetary Rewards. Science, 306, 503-507.
Montoya, M. I. (2010). Situación de la competitividad de las pyme en Colombia: elementos actuales y retos. Agronomía Colombiana, 28(1), 107-117.
Ng, Y.-K. (1996, April 21). Complex Niches Favour Rational Species. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 179(4), 303-311. https://doi.org/10.1006/jtbi.1996.0069
Oswald, A. (1997). Happiness and Economic Performance. Economic, 107(445). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0297.1997.tb00085.x
Posner, M. I. & Keele, S. W. (1968). On the Genesis of Abstract Ideas. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 77(3), 353-363. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0025953
Robson, A. (2002). Evolution and Human Nature. The Journal of Economic Perspectives,16(2), 89-106. https://doi.org/10.1257/0895330027274
Robson, A. (2003). The Biological Basis of Economic Behaviour. Journal of Economic Literature, 39, 11-33. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.39.1.11
Robson, C. (2011). Real World Research: A Resource for Social-Scientists and Practitioner-Researchers. Blackwell Publishing.
Rogers, A. (1994). Evolution of Time Preference by Natural Selection. American Economic Review, 84(3), 460-481.
Rosch, E. & Mervis, C. (1975). Family Resemblances: Studies in the Internal Structure of Categories. Cognitive Psychology, 7(4), 573-605. https://doi.org/10.1016/0010-0285(75)90024-9
Ross, L. & Nisbett, R. (1991). The Person and the Situation. McGraw-Hill.[58] Rottenstreich, Y. & Hsee, C. (2001). Money, Kisses and Electric Shocks: On the Affective Psychology of Risk. Psychological Science, 12(3), 185-190. https://doi.
org/10.1111/1467-9280.00334
Schaap, M. K. (2008). Effect of Nationwide Tobacco Control Policies on Smoking Cessation in High and Low Educated Groups in 18 European Countries. Tobacco Control, 17(4), 248-255. https://doi.org/10.1136/tc.2007.024265
Scitovsky, T. (1992). The Joyless Economy. Oxford University Press.
Simon, H. (1986). Rationality in Psychology and Economics. The Journal of Business, 59(4), Part 2: The Behavioral Foundations of Economic Theory, S209-S224. https://doi.org/10.1086/296363
Slovic, P. M. (2002). Influence of Affective Processes on Toxicologists’ Judgments of Risk. Unpublished Study.
Stanovich, K. E. & West, R. F. (2002). Individual differences in reasoning: Implications for the rationality debate? In T. Gilovich, D. Griffin& D. Kahneman (Eds.), Heuristics & Biases: The Psychology of Intuitive Judgment (pp. 421-440).
Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511808098.026
Sternberg, R. (1997). The Concept of Intelligence and Its Role in Lifelong Learning and Success. American Psychologist, 52(10), 1030-1037. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.52.10.1030
Strotz, R. (1956). Myopia and Inconsistency in Dynamic Utility Maximization. Review of Economic Studies, 23(3),165-180. https://doi.org/10.2307/2295722
Thaler, R. (1980). Toward a Positive Theor y of Consumer Choice. Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 1(1), 39-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/0167-2681(80)90051-7
Thaler, R. (1985). Mental Accounting and Consumer Choice. Marketing Science, 4, 199-214. https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.4.3.199
Thaler, R. (1999). Mental Accounting Matters. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 12, 183-206. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-0771(199909)12:3<183::AID-BDM318>3.0.CO;2-F
Thaler. R. & Kahneman, D. (1991). Economic Analysis and The Psychology of Utility: Applications to Compensation Policy. American Economic Review, 81(2), 341-352.
Thaler, R. & Sunstein, C. (2017). Nudge, Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness. Penguin Random House.
The Nobel Prize. (2021). Richard H. Thaler Facts. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2017/thaler/facts/
The Nobel Prize. (2021). Daniel Kahneman Facts. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2002/kahneman/facts/
Tom, S., Fox, C., Trepel, C., & Poldrack, R. (2007). The Neural Basis of LossAversion in Decision-Making Under Risk. Science, 315(5811), 515–518.
Tremblay, L., Hollerman, J. & Schultz, W. (1998). Modifications of Reward Expectation-Related Neuronal Activity During Learning in Primate Striatum. Journal of Neurophysiology, 80(2), 964-977. https://doi.org/10.1152/
jn.1998.80.2.964
Tversky, A. & Kahneman, D. (1981). The Framing of Decisions and the Psychology of the Choice. Science, 211(4481), 453-458. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.7455683
Tversky, A. & Kahneman, D. (1986). Rational Choice and the Framing of Decisions. Journal of Business, 251-278. https://doi.org/10.1086/296365
Tversky, A. & Kahneman, D. (1991). Loss Aversion in Riskless Choice: A Reference-Dependent Model. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 106(4),1039-1061. https://doi.org/10.2307/2937956
Watanabe, M. & Sakagami, M. (2007). Integration of Cognitive and Motivational Context Information in the Primate Prefrontal Cortex. Cerebral Cortex, 17, 101-109. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhm067
Witt, U. (2003). The Evolving Economy: Essays on the Evolutionary Approach to Economics. Edward Elgar.
Word Happiness Report. (2017). Report. https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2017/
Word Happiness Report. (2018). Report. https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2018/
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Cindy Cifuentes Gómez, Siervo Tulio Delgado Ruiz, Jorge Iván González
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
By submitting articles for evaluation, the author agrees to transfer the publishing rights to Revista Apuntes del CENES for publishing in any format or mean and that the attached partial use license will be signed.
The journal is under licence Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)
