Denna studie undersöker hur premiepensionssparare tar beslut och vad som ligger till grund för valet att vara aktiv eller passiv i syfte att skapa ökad förståelse och underlätta utformningen av ett ökat beslutsstöd för premiepensionsspararna. Tidigare studier har visat att premiepensionssparare som är kontinuerligt aktiva i sin placering är de som får högst avkastning på sin premiepension, ändå är en stor andel av svenska premiepensionssparare passiva. Studien undersöker några av de faktorer och tankesätt som ligger till grund för att en stor andel av svenska premiepensionssparare inte tar beslut som förväntas enligt teoretiska beslutsteorier som förutsätter rationalitet. Som verktyg för att undersöka och öka förståelsen för premiepensionssparares beslutsfattande används prospect theory som är en alternativ teori till den klassiska ekonomiska teorin om ekonomiskt beslutsfattande. Studien grundar sig i problematiken som uppstår när samhällsutvecklingen allt mer skapar större informationsflöde samtidigt som allt mer beslut och risk läggs på individen. Mängden information ökar samtidigt som det blir allt svårare att filtrera vilken information som är viktig. Genom enkätundersökning visar studien att informationsöverflöd och kunskapsbrist är de främsta orsakerna till valet av passivitet. Studien visar också att en högre kvalitet på den information som ges om fonder och premiepensionsystemet skulle kunna få fler premiepensionssparare att bli aktiva. Studien ger även indikationer om att svenska premiepensionssparare tar beslut enligt prospect theory.

Contingent valuation has been given a psychological interpretation, by Kahneman and colleagues, that claims willingness to pay bids represent psychological attitudes rather than personal economic valuations. Evidence reported here shows the need to qualify the role of this attitudinal explanation. In contradiction to the attitudinal hypothesis, the decision to bid zero or positive appears to represent a complex psychological appraisal. Furthermore, evidence of bid clustering on currency denominations implies fundamental differences concerning how people respond to a monetary scale. Whether interpreted as charitable contributions or imprecise welfare estimates there are serious implications for how economists interpret and use stated preference responses. (authors' abstract)

Pain has a significant burden on individuals and society; however challenges remain in the measurement of pain-related utility. Research was conducted to design a measurement framework for valuing pain states, for use in policy making. Within the theoretical framework of utility theory, the bio-psychosocial model of pain was used to select co-variates impacting the pain-utility relationship. The applicability of two utility theories (prospect theory and hedonist theory) to pain was evaluated, with EQ-5D-5L and utility values for scenarios of different pain intensities elicited using time-trade-off (TTO) and willingness-to-pay (WTP). Prospect theory was tested using the pain-utility relationship in 600 members of the general population (‘genpop’) by examining the presence of a reference point and the relationship between pain decreases/increases (gains/losses) and utility. Hedonist theory was tested through examination of predicted, experienced and remembered utilities, and ‘peak-end’ effects, principally using data from 56 university athletes experiencing training pain. Pain intensity had the greatest influence on EQ-5D values, with present and worst pain showing additive effects. Duration of the pain episode, general health, mood, age and gender also had significant impacts. In addition to pain intensity, TTO ‘genpop’ models included age, income, experienced pain and general health; WTP ‘genpop’ models included residual pain, age and income. The TTO and WTP models did not fit the athletes’ data well and alternative models were developed. The data did not confirm prospect theory: a reference point could not be identified (‘genpop’ and athletes) and the shape of the utility curve contradicted theory (athletes). Results for hedonist theory were inconclusive: predicted utility was consistently higher than experienced utility in athletes but the relationship depended on pain levels in ‘genpop’; remembered and experienced utility differed despite being consistent for pain levels; peak-end effects were not found. Further research in controlled environments is recommended for further theory testing.

L'objectif de ces travaux est d'établir les bases servant à l'élaboration d'un modèle de jugement des expressions faciales dynamiques. Se basant sur des données présentées par Kahneman et ses collègues (1993) qui montrent que les jugements complexes d'épisodes temporels sont fonction de l'intensité maximale d'une série et de l'intensité de son dernier élément, une première étude démontre l'importance de ces paramètres dans l'évaluation de la hauteur moyenne d'une séquence de rectangles dont la hauteur varie en fonction du temps. Cette étude montre aussi que la hauteur moyenne des rectangles en influence l'évaluation. La seconde étude a pour but de déterminer si les mêmes paramètres sont impliqués dans le jugement d'expressions faciales dynamiques. Les résultats montrent que l'intensité maximale, l'intensité finale ainsi que l'intensité moyenne influencent le jugement de l'intensité et de la valence. Il est suggéré d'ajouter la moyenne globale aux paramètres pouvant influencer le jugement d'épisodes temporels dans le modèle présenté par Kahneman et ses collègues. Nous considérons donc qu'il s'agit d'un point de départ pour l'élaboration d'un modèle de traitement des expressions faciales dynamiques.

Why Do Borrowers Choose Arms Over FRMS? : A Behavioral Investigation in the U.S. and Japan by Masaki Mori In the U.S., a considerable number of borrowers still choose adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) over fixed rate mortgages (FRMs), even with historically low interest rates. During 2004-2005, when interest rates remained at 30-year lows, ARMs accounted for approximately one-third of all mortgage originations. Kahneman and Tversky's Prospect Theory’s reflection hypothesis suggested that people tend to be more risk-averse in positive decision situations, while they tend to be more risk-seeking when making negative choices. The first purpose of this study is to examine descriptive reasons for the popularity of ARMs in the U.S. People of different cultures often evaluate uncertain events in different ways. Hofstede developed a cultural dimension, uncertainty avoidance (UA), where UA is defined as the extent to which people feel threatened by uncertain situations. The second purpose of this study is to test the role of UA on the choice of mortgage products using data from two cultures (U.S. and Japan), potentially differing in attitude toward uncertain situations. Controlled experiments were conducted using 92 U.S. participants and 49 Japanese participants. Results of analysis supported Prospect Theory’s reflection hypothesis, suggesting that risk-averse people tend to become more risk-seeking when choosing a mortgage type, leaning more toward ARMs when people frame the mortgage choice problem as part of a loss situation. The results of the intercultural comparison portion of the study supported the research hypothesis that UA works as a moderating variable for Prospect Theory’s reflection hypothesis, suggesting that risk-averse people with lower UA scores more dramatically change from a risk-averse preference for a fixed-rate bond to a more risk-seeking preference for an adjustable-rate mortgage, than risk-averse people with higher UA scores do. Overall, results of this study suggested that borrowers behave differently depending on their propensity for current consumption, the level of UA, and how they frame the mortgage choice decision. This study contributes to existing mortgage choice literature by incorporating psychological and cultural traits to examine borrowers’ attitudes towards interest rate risk with regard to residential mortgages. The findings are of great importance globally for governments and lenders in creating and introducing new mortgage products in countries with diverse cultures.

This thesis aims to expand our knowledge about Naturalistic Decision Making (NDM) in strategic decision-making. A case study of the Cuban missile crisis has been conducted. The purpose of the case study is to enhance knowledge about how NDM can be performed on a strategic level. The thesis aims to answer the questions how the crisis can be explained from a NDM-perspective, which decisions is likely to be made in a NDM-manner. In what way decision-makers can be said to be experts or experienced decision-makers and what we can learn from the Cuban missile crisis in respect to NDM. No earlier research has been identified that has performed this kind of case study. The main theory in this thesis is NDM and mainly the part of NDM that is called Recognition Primed Decision (RPD) by Klein. As a complement the so called STEP-procedure (Story, Test, Evaluate, Plan) by Cohen is used as an indicator alongside RPD. The result of the case study shows that many decisions during the Cuban missile crisis may have been performed in a naturalistic manner. This shows that decisions on the strategic level may be performed in a naturalistic manner with good results and indicates the importance of utilizing more than rational decision making in order to achieve fast and satisfying results. It is the author beliefs that decision making will be much improved by applying more NDM.

There have always been rogues who dared to go against the traditional "intellectual" writing style of science and academia, a style that seems bent on transcending the "merely personal." Those who take this risk are embracing the rhetorical tradition of pathos, one that goes as far back as Aristotle. Current academic trends support a genre devoid of pathos and lacking true ethos—a deviation from classic rhetoric, and one that supports the Cartesian split of mind-body dualism. Neurological studies done by Antonio Damasio and others suggest that a holistic view is a more accurate picture of how a human soul functions. Philosophy and psychology support this same perspective, proving that the opposite of logic is not emotion: the opposite of logic is illogic. By the same token, there are two types of emotion: reasonable emotion and unreasonable emotion, one good, the other bad. There are dangers when emotion is left on its own, but there are equal dangers when logic is left on its own; so it is crucial that the two be united. Changing the academic super-genre and inviting pathos back will require writers to pursue, to an extent, divergent thinking.

This study sets out to explore attitudes and intentions towards nicotine product goods and how it is affected by the goal framing effect. The presence of this effect has been shown in the advertising of both green products and everyday products. The aim of this research is to explore whether or not this also holds true when it comes to unhealthy products, more precisely tobacco free all white nicotine products.    A quasi experimental study was conducted with the use of a fictitious brand of All-white tobacco. All 63 participants in the three different experimental groups of the study met the mandatory age requirement. One of the three groups received a positively framed advert, another received a negatively framed advert, whereas the last group acted as the control group and therefore received a neutral advertisement stimuli. All participants submitted their answers on a questionnaire created for this study, which was validated using Cronbach’s alpha and factor analysis.   The results suggest that the use of goal framing is beneficial when advertising nicotine product goods. Both positive and negative goal-framing showed a greater effect on purchase intention and product attitude than the control group. The negative goal-framing advert proved to be statistically different than the control group when measuring product attitude. Furthermore, the positively framed advert showed a statistically significant difference in effect on both product attitude and purchase intention compared to the control group.    The findings suggest that positively framed goal-framing has an effect on both attitudes and purchase intention, compared to the neutral stimuli. The negatively framed goal-framing had an effect on attitudes, compared to the neutral stimuli. The practical implication of this study could possibly be that when constructing advertisements for tobacco free snus products, it could be preferable to make use of the positive goal-framing effect in order to affect the consumers purchase intention and attitude towards the product.   This study has confirmed to some extent that the framing effect is a factor prevalent in the advertising of tobacco free products. For further research it would be highly interesting to delve deeper in comparing positive and negative goal-framing in order to find further evidence of which one has greater effect on consumers.