Eliciting probabilistic expectations: Collaborations between psychologists and economists

Area of Science:

• Interdisciplinary research
• Behavioral economics
• Psychology

Background:

• Foundational research programs often require expertise from multiple disciplines.
• Eliciting expectations is crucial for understanding economic and psychological development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe successful collaborations between psychologists and economists on major research projects.
• To identify key factors enabling transdisciplinary research and co-production of knowledge.

Main Methods:

• Developed precise yet simple survey questions for economic modeling and lay respondents.
• Conducted two projects: one on adolescent life event expectations, another on consumer inflation expectations.

Main Results:

• Successfully elicited adolescents' expectations on psychological and economic development.
• Successfully elicited consumers' inflation expectations for economic decision-making.
• Identified four critical conditions for successful transdisciplinary collaboration.

Conclusions:

• Shared research goals, common methodology, equitable effort, and mutual benefits are essential for effective interdisciplinary research.
• Transdisciplinary collaboration can yield valuable insights in both psychological and economic domains.