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The Lichtenstein-Slovic-Tversky-Kahneman Nexus. A Prehistory of Behavioral Economics (1969-1974)

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  • Jean-Sébastien Lenfant

    (PRISM, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to provide a historical account of the contributions to judgment and decision making by four cognitive psychologists at the turn of the 1970s: Sarah Lichtenstein, Paul Slovic, Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman. Beyond the usual focus on Kahneman and Tversky's heuristics and biases approach, we uphold that historians of behavioral economics would gain from a broader and more balanced view of the contributions of these four psychologists to the theory of decision making. Together with the heuristics and biases approach, experiments on preference reversal and choice intransitivities represent a multifaceted criticism of standard theories of choice and decision against which the genesis of behavioral economics could be evaluated.

Suggested Citation

  • Jean-Sébastien Lenfant, 2024. "The Lichtenstein-Slovic-Tversky-Kahneman Nexus. A Prehistory of Behavioral Economics (1969-1974)," GREDEG Working Papers 2024-31, Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS), Université Côte d'Azur, France.
    • Handle: RePEc:gre:wpaper:2024-31
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    JEL classification:

    • B21 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Microeconomics
    • B29 - Schools of Economic Thought and Methodology - - History of Economic Thought since 1925 - - - Other
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making

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