verhaltensökonomik

Verhaltensökonomik, also known as behavioral economics, is a field that combines insights from psychology and economics to understand how people make decisions. It challenges traditional economic assumptions that individuals are always rational and self-interested. Instead, verhaltensökonomik acknowledges that psychological factors, emotions, and cognitive biases heavily influence economic choices.

Key concepts within verhaltensökonomik include bounded rationality, which suggests that people have limited cognitive abilities and information, leading them to make decisions that are "good enough" rather than perfectly optimal. It also explores heuristics, which are mental shortcuts or rules of thumb that people use to simplify complex decisions. While often efficient, these heuristics can lead to systematic errors or biases. Examples include framing effects, where the way information is presented can alter choices, and loss aversion, the tendency for people to feel the pain of a loss more strongly than the pleasure of an equivalent gain.

The field has practical applications in various areas, such as marketing, public policy, and personal finance. By understanding these behavioral patterns, policymakers and businesses can design interventions and products that better align with how people actually behave, leading to more effective outcomes. Verhaltensökonomik offers a more realistic and nuanced view of human decision-making in economic contexts.