decision and experience:why don't we choose what makes us happy author : christopher k. hsee...
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Decision and experience:why don't we choose what makes us happy
Author : Christopher K. Hsee and Reid HastieSource : Trends in Cognitive SciencesVolume 10, Issue 1, January 2006, Pages 31-37 指導教授:戴敏育老師報告者 : 淡江大學資訊管理系碩士班 吳至偉 698630497日期: 2011/10/21
outline Introduction Failures to predict future experience
accurately Failures to follow predictions Summary
Introduction
Fundamental assumption of classic economic theory People are able to identify and choose what is
best for them Are people really able to choose what is
best for them? Recent findings from behavioral-decision
research People are not always able to choose what
yields the greatest happiness or best experience
Failures to predict future experience accurately
Behavioral-decision researchers have identified several systematic biases Impact bias Projection bias Distinction bias Memory bias Belief bias
Impact bias
People often overestimate the impact of an affective event
One cause of this impact bias is focalism predictors pay too much attention to the
central event and overlook context events Another cause of impact bias is immune
neglect after an emotion-evoking event happens,
people tend to rationalize or make sense of it
Projection bias
People making predictions and people experiencing are often in different arousal states
Projection bias occurs not only when experiencers are others
Projection bias can lead to choices that one will regret
Distinction bias
Distinction bias occurs because predictors and experiencers are in different evaluation modes(single or joint-evaluation)
Distinction bias can also lead to non-optimal choices
Memory bias
Predictions of future experiences are often based on memories of related past experiences memory is fallible and introduces
systematic biases into evaluations A classic experiment by Kahneman and
co-authors
Belief bias
A guide of hedonic forecasts is people’s lay theories of what makes them happy or unhappy
One common belief is more choice options are always better
Failures to follow predictions
Decision- makers need to act on their predictions
Decision- makers variously choose the option that has these characters Impulsivity rule-based choice lay rationalism medium maximization
Impulsivity
A major cause of sub-optimal decisions is impulsivity
The choice of an immediately gratifying option at the cost of long-term happiness overeating, avoiding medical exams,
taking drugs, and squandering savings
Rule-based decisions
Decision-makers sometimes base their choices on rules for good behavior rather than predicted experience
Some examples of decision rules seek variety don’t waste
Lay rationalism
Decision-makers strive to be rational the desire for rationality can lead to less
rational decisions Three specific manifestations of lay
rationalism lay economism lay scientism lay functionalism
Medium maximization
Often when people exert effort to obtain a desired outcome, the immediate reward they receive is not the outcome itself, but a medium
people work harder and harder to accumulate more and more wealth, but are not in fact happier
Summary
For decades, behavioral-decision researchers have studied inconsistencies in choices, demonstrating
In recent years, decision researchers have studied directly when decisions are sub-optimal two general reasons for the failure
prediction biases failures to follow predictions
Summary
Many social policies(free choice of health providers, retirement plans)are built upon the assumptions that people know their own preferences and that what people choose must be in their best interests
The behavioral-decision-research findings we have reviewed here cast doubt on these assumptions