In his Healthcare Economist Blog, Jason Shafrin discusses a new paper that asks the the pressing economic question: are individuals rational (in face of some pretty kooky decisions that people sometimes make). He reviews a recent study that asks participants to "talk outloud" when they make a decision. And, as it turns out, maybe we are rational, but the assumptions that we bring to the table are kooky. He gives some examples from the study. It's a good lesson for those doing such research (are my assumptions the same as potentially idosyncratic assumptions of my test group?). And also a psychological question for the rest of us -- what is "rational" is often based upon the baseline assumptions that people bring to the table. Maybe it's there that the rational decision-maker model breaks down. Ryan, Watson, and Entwistle (2009) ”Rationalising the irrational: a think aloud study of discrete choice experiment responses” Health Economics, v18(3):321-336.
via Healthcare Economist · Think Aloud: A tool for experimental economists.
No comments:
Post a Comment