Individual Choice Behavior

This treatise presents a mathematical analysis of choice behavior. Starting with a general axiom, it then examines applications of the theory to substantive problems: psychophysics, utility, and learning. 1959 edition.

Dr. William Glasser offers a new psychology that, if practiced, could reverse our widespread inability to get along with one another, an inability that is the source of almost all unhappiness. For progress in human relationships, he explains that we must give up the punishing, relationship–destroying external control psychology. For example, if you are in an unhappy relationship right now, he proposes that one or both of you could be using external control psychology on the other. He goes further. And suggests that misery is always related to a current unsatisfying relationship. Contrary to what you may believe, your troubles are always now, never in the past. No one can change what happened yesterday.

Whether we're buying a pair of jeans, ordering a cup of coffee, selecting a long-distance carrier, applying to college, choosing a doctor, or setting up a 401(k), everyday decisions—both big and small—have become increasingly complex due to the overwhelming abundance of choice with which we are presented. As Americans, we assume that more choice means better options and greater satisfaction. But beware of excessive choice: choice overload can make you question the decisions you make before you even make them, it can set you up for unrealistically high expectations, and it can make you blame yourself for any and all failures. In the long run, this can lead to decision-making paralysis, anxiety, and perpetual stress. And, in a culture that tells us that there is no excuse for falling short of perfection when your options are limitless, too much choice can lead to clinical depression. In The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz explains at what point choice—the hallmark of individual freedom and self-determination that we so cherish—becomes detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. In accessible, engaging, and anecdotal prose, Schwartz shows how the dramatic explosion in choice—from the mundane to the profound challenges of balancing career, family, and individual needs—has paradoxically become a problem instead of a solution. Schwartz also shows how our obsession with choice encourages us to seek that which makes us feel worse. By synthesizing current research in the social sciences, Schwartz makes the counter intuitive case that eliminating choices can greatly reduce the stress, anxiety, and busyness of our lives. He offers eleven practical steps on how to limit choices to a manageable number, have the discipline to focus on those that are important and ignore the rest, and ultimately derive greater satisfaction from the choices you have to make.

The emerging interdisciplinary field of cognitive choice models integrates theory and recent research findings from both decision process and choice behavior. Cognitive decision processes provide the interface between the environment and brain, enabling choice behavior, and the basic cognitive mechanisms underlying decision processes are fundamental to all fields of human activity. Yet cognitive processes and choice processes are often studied separately, whether by decision theorists, consumer researchers, or social scientists. In Cognitive Choice Modeling, Zheng Joyce Wang and Jerome R. Busemeyer introduce a new cognitive modeling approach to the study of human choice behavior. Integrating recent research findings from both cognitive science and choice behavior, they lay the groundwork for the emerging interdisciplinary field of cognitive choice modeling.

Migration, commuting, and tourism are prominent phenomena demonstrating the political and economic relevance of the spatial choice behavior of households. The identification of the determinants and effects of the households' location choice is necessary for both entrepreneurial and policy planners who attempt to predict (or regulate) the future demand for location-specific commodities, such as infrastructure, land, or housing, and the supply of labor. Microeconomic studies of the spatial behavior of individuals have typically focused upon the demand for a single, homogeneous, yet location-specific com 2 modity (such as land! or housing ) or their supply of labor3 and investigated the formation of location-specific prices and wages in the presence of transportation and migration costs or analyzed the individual-and location-specific character istics triggering spatial rather than quantitative or temporal adjustments. In contrast to many theoretical analyses, empirical studies of the causes or con sequences of individual demand for location-specific commodities have often considered several "brands" of a heterogeneous good that are offered at various locations, are perfect substitutes, and may be produced by varying production 4 technologies. lCf. Alonso (1964) 2Cf. Muth (1969). 3Cf. Sjaastad (1962) and Greenwood (1975).

This book describes the authors' research program using laboratory animals to investigate individual choice theory in economics.