Psychology and Economics: Evidence from the Field
2009/05/01 by Stefano DellaVigna · 2,409 citations
Decision Sciences · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Behavioral economics #Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics #Economic Theory and Institutions #Economics #Empirical evidence #Experimental Behavioral Economics Studies #Framing (construction) #Framing effect #Microeconomics #Overconfidence effect #Persuasion #Political science #Politics #Positive economics #Psychology #Social preferences #Social psychology #Voting
paper · doi:10.1257/jel.47.2.315
published in Journal of Economic Literature 47(2), 315-372 (American Economic Association)
openalex publication_date 2009/05/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Abstract
The research in Psychology and Economics (a.k.a. Behavioral Economics) suggests that individuals deviate from the standard model in three respects: (1) nonstandard preferences, (2) nonstandard beliefs, and (3) nonstandard decision making. In this paper, I survey the empirical evidence from the field on these three classes of deviations. The evidence covers a number of applications, from consumption to finance, from crime to voting, from charitable giving to labor supply. In the class of nonstandard preferences, I discuss time preferences (self-control problems), risk preferences (reference dependence), and social preferences. On nonstandard beliefs, I present evidence on overconfidence, on the law of small numbers, and on projection bias. Regarding nonstandard decision making, I cover framing, limited attention, menu effects, persuasion and social pressure, and emotions. I also present evidence on how rational actors—firms, employers, CEOs, investors, and politicians—respond to the nonstandard behavior described in the survey. Finally, I briefly discuss under what conditions experience and market interactions limit the impact of the nonstandard features.
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