From Rational Choice to Behavioural Economics

Mathis, Klaus; Steffen, Ariel David

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-11635-8_3

Cited by 31 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The argument that fully rational decision-making is 'bounded' by limited cognitive capacity is being increasingly demonstrated in the literature, both theoretically and empirically (e.g. Ehrlinger, Readinger & Kim, 2015;Mathis & Steffen, 2015). The integration of psychology into neoclassic economics has developed the field of behavioral economics, that heavily documents systematic deviations (biases) from the rational behavior assumed in standard economics (The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, 2017).With his theory on Mental accounting, Richard H. Thaler * makes a radical break with the traditional economic model of utility-maximizing consumers (Thaler, 1985(Thaler, , 1999.…”

Section: Consumer Decision-making and (Bounded) Rationalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Consumption dynamics during recession and recovery: A learning journey

Sarmento

Marques

Galan-Ladero

2019

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services

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This paper original contribution builds on examining consumer attitudes in periods of recession and post-recession, providing new insights concerning consumer decision-making, the new logic of spending and saving behavior and also opening new paths for research on the psychology of choice in contexts of recession and the immediate stage of recovery. The study used a longitudinal qualitative approach comprising twenty-two semi-structured interviews with eleven Portuguese consumers. The research was conducted in two moments in time: 2014 and 2018, corresponding to periods of Portuguese recession and recovery. The results show that, during recessions, consumers look for economic level-headedness, adopting and assuming new behaviors that allow them to accommodate the reduced income, which also translates into increased social responsibility. Besides switching to cheaper options, namely looking for private labels and national brand promotions, consumers revealed new strategies and new habits, such as i) more organization and planned behavior; ii) going shopping more frequently; iii) reducing stocking behavior, and iv) avoiding wasting. The study expands the comprehension of consumer behavior during recessions and recovery, bringing the idea of crises as 'learning journeys' and transformational opportunities.

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Section: Consumer Decision-making and (Bounded) Rationalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Consumption dynamics during recession and recovery: A learning journey

Sarmento

Marques

Galan-Ladero

2019

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services

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“…Thus, the way in which animal-welfare choice options are presented and the nature of the decision context may affect consumer decision. Furthermore, we often deviate from long-term goals and make decisions which do not serve our own interests [20] or reflect what we believe is the ‘right’ thing to do [18]. As such, even with the best of intentions, when it comes to the moment of decision it can be very difficult for an individual to make an ‘animal-friendly’ consumer choice; hence the attitude–behaviour gap [16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reducing the Consumer Attitude–Behaviour Gap in Animal Welfare: The Potential Role of ‘Nudges’

Vigors

2018

Animals

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Simple SummaryMany members of the public express a desire for farm animals to have a good quality of life. Yet, when it comes to purchasing higher welfare products which would support this, many consumers do not ‘walk their talk’. This paper introduces the concept of ‘nudging’ as a means to help consumers align their actions with their intentions and support their desire to engage in pro-animal welfare behaviours. ‘Nudging’ is a collection of behaviour change tools designed to hint to, or suggest, a choice most closely aligned with an individual’s self-interests or intentions. Their purpose is to simplify the decision-making environment by working in concert with the behavioural flaws known to influence human decision-making. Four specific behavioural ‘nudges’ are outlined: self-nudges, choice architecture, social norms and pre-commitments, along with examples of how they can be applied to animal welfare. Inspired by effective applications of ‘nudging’ to close the consumer attitude–behaviour gap in other relevant domains, this paper seeks to highlight how similar initiatives might be applied to better support higher welfare choices amongst consumers and in turn, enhance the lives of farm animals.AbstractCitizen concern for the welfare of farm animals is well documented. However, there is a notable gap between people saying they want improved farm animal welfare and how they actually behave as a consumer. This is known as the citizen–consumer attitude–behaviour gap. As improvements in farm animal welfare can be affected by market demand, the choices consumers make become important. This paper introduces the concept of ‘nudging’ and discusses how it could be applied to reduce the attitude–behaviour gap amongst consumers. By designing the choice environment to better reflect the behavioural biases known to impact human decision-making, ‘nudge’ tools function to prompt individuals to make choices that are aligned with their stated intentions. Four ‘nudge’ tools: self-nudges, choice architecture, social norms and pre-commitments are discussed. The behavioural rationales for their use are reviewed and examples of how they might be applied to animal welfare provided. Improved farm animal welfare arguably requires improved pro-welfare consumer behaviour. This paper highlights how this might be encouraged by: self-nudging the salience of an ethical self-image; altering the choice architecture to influence decision-making; articulating social norms to impact behaviour; and using pre-commitment devices to overcome self-control issues.

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“…In this respect, in a recent study for the European Commission, behavioural research was extensively applied to Unfair Commercial Practices Law. 1 Although the fact that behavioural studies can be relevant has thus been argued (see for further academic treatments of these issues the contributors to Zamir andTeichman 2014 andMathis 2015), there is little guidance so far on how such studies can be conducted to inform policy makers and regulators.…”

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confidence: 99%

Can Bonus Packs Mislead Consumers? A Demonstration of How Behavioural Consumer Research Can Inform Unfair Commercial Practices Law on the Example of the ECJ’s Mars Judgement

Purnhagen

Herpen

2017

J Consum Policy

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The use of psychological findings in EU internal market regulation has gained interest, particularly in the area of unfair commercial practices. This study investigates consumer perceptions of bonus packs containing an oversized indication of the Bextra^volume in the package, such as in the Mars case. The Mars case serves as a standard reference in EU unfair commercial practices law which is used as a benchmark to determine the Baverage consumer.^Our study demonstrates how an experiment can be set up to provide empirically based insights on whether a practice is Bdeceptive.^Results of our experiment show that consumers overestimate the extra volume when confronted with an oversized indication compared to control conditions, which is first empirical evidence that this practice is potentially deceptive.

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From Rational Choice to Behavioural Economics

Cited by 31 publications

References 22 publications

Consumption dynamics during recession and recovery: A learning journey

Consumption dynamics during recession and recovery: A learning journey

Reducing the Consumer Attitude–Behaviour Gap in Animal Welfare: The Potential Role of ‘Nudges’

Can Bonus Packs Mislead Consumers? A Demonstration of How Behavioural Consumer Research Can Inform Unfair Commercial Practices Law on the Example of the ECJ’s Mars Judgement

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