How are values computed in the brain? Rewards can be many things: the expectation when having just ordered your favorite dish; the child’s joy at Christmas Eve; the enjoyment of good music or the wonderful taste of strawberries. But how does the brain process these many different kinds of rewards? And what part of the brain controls these emotions? Does the emotional brain treat all types of rewards equally or does it distinguish between different kinds of rewards?
Category: behavioral economics
Brain noise and bad decisions
In behavioral economics, “noise” is all the new rage. But even a decade ago, we knew a bit about what could explain this brain noise.
The human biases behind the COVID-19 crisis
The ongoing crisis with the novel corona virus cannot come as a surprise. Human fallibility is the key to a cure.
Pre-crastination, cognitive demand, and decisions
We’ve all hear about procrastination — the act of delaying or postponing an action. But what is pre-crastination? A new science is emerging!
Juggling & the Limits of Nudging
Nudging is all the rave, but recent advances in psychology suggest a completely different mechanism that really drives change…
The Limits of Behavioral Economics
We know we’re all biased, but what is really the power of behavioral economics? Here are some limits to be considered.