Monday, January 04, 2010

An Unothodox Critic of Rationality

For an unorthodox criticism of assumptions of rationality in economics see Dr. Michael Towsey, Queensland University [Warning, it is a very long article HERE]:

“The Biopsychology of Cooperation - Part 2”

"Numerous experiments have revealed that human economic decision making is far more complex than accepted by the simple theory of maximising gain. This turns out to be true even for animals. For example, if two monkeys perform the same task side by side, and one is rewarded a grape (big money) and the other a cucumber (small money), the latter will throw a tantrum and toss the cucumber out of its cubicle. Yet if both receive a cucumber, both eat happily. Conclusion: monkeys show an aversion to inequality. The reward does not even have to be physical - it can be the affectionate attention of laboratory staff. - Michael Towsey

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I have no views on the source of the article. It may be worth a look, or not.

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