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Related Experiment Videos

Rationality.

Eldar Shafir1, Robyn A LeBoeuf

  • 1Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544, USA. Shafir@princeton.edu

Annual Review of Psychology
|December 26, 2001
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

People often make irrational decisions, violating basic logic in judgment and choice. Despite objections, research confirms these deviations from rationality impact social sciences.

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Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Decision Science
  • Behavioral Economics

Background:

  • Research on human reasoning, judgment, and choice reveals systematic deviations from normative models.
  • Recent objections challenge the validity and interpretation of these empirical findings regarding rationality.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review empirical findings on reasoning, judgment, and choice.
  • To address objections questioning the relevance of these findings to rationality assumptions.
  • To discuss psychological constructs influencing decision-making.

Main Methods:

  • Review of selected research findings on reasoning, judgment, and choice.
  • Analysis of objections concerning task adequacy, response interpretation, and theoretical assumptions.

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  • Discussion of psychological constructs like cognitive ability and dual-process theories.

    • Main Results:

    • Empirical findings demonstrate systematic violations of rationality in human judgment and choice.
    • Objections raised do not fundamentally undermine the conclusion that people often deviate from rational decision-making.
    • Psychological factors such as cognitive ability and incentives play a role in these deviations.

    Conclusions:

    • The critique of human rationality is robust and increasingly influential in social sciences.
    • Understanding deviations from rationality is crucial for fields like psychology and economics.
    • Further research should consider cognitive and contextual factors influencing decision-making.