A term created by behavioral economist Richard Thaler, which describes the way that psychologists view people. Humans are not always rational, not always selfish, and are often very unstable in their likes and dislikes. This term is often used in opposition with Econs—the way that economists view people. Kahneman spends a majority of Part 4, which discusses prospect theory, arguing that people generally act more like Humans and less like Econs.
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The timeline below shows where the term Humans appears in Thinking, Fast and Slow. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 4, Chapter 25
...stable. Behavioral economist Richard Thaler designates these ideas of people using the names Econs and Humans.
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...the decisions of Econs, but Tversky and Kahneman wanted to investigate the intuitive decisions of Humans. Five years after studying gambles, they completed an essay on what they dubbed “prospect theory.”...
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Part 4, Chapter 26
...another flaw in Bernoulli’s theory, proved by Matthew Rabin in 2000. He notes that most Humans reject this gamble: 50% chance to lose $100 and 50% to win 200. According to...
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Part 4, Chapter 27
...ignore buying prices—the current market value is all that should matter. But not so for Humans. Owners who have paid more money for their homes set a higher price and spend...
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Part 4, Chapter 31
...comprehensive decision, with four options. Broad framing will be superior in every case, even though Humans are narrow framers by nature.
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Conclusions
Kahneman then returns to the idea of Econs and Humans, as well as basic economic theory. He argues that the definition of rationality as being...
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