The costs of giving up: Action versus inaction asymmetries in regret

AbstractKurzban et al.'s opportunity cost model of mental effort relies heavily on counterfactual thinking. We suggest that a closer inspection of the role of counterfactual emotions, and particularly of action/inaction asymmetries in anticipated regret, may be important in understanding the role of opportunity costs in decisions to persist with a current task.

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The effect of opportunity costs on mental fatigue in labor/leisure tradeoffs

10.31234/osf.io/3765s ◽

2019 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jonas Dora ◽

Madelon van Hooff ◽

Sabine A. E. Geurts ◽

Michiel A. J. Kompier ◽

Erik Bijleveld

Keyword(s):

Opportunity Cost ◽

Cost Model ◽

Cost Benefit ◽

Daily Basis ◽

Mental Fatigue ◽

Current Level ◽

Opportunity Costs ◽

Total N ◽

Paid Labor ◽

Current Task

Most people experience the feeling of mental fatigue on a daily basis. Previous research shows that mental fatigue impacts information processing and decision making. However, the proximal causes of mental fatigue are not yet well understood. In this research, we test the opportunity cost model of mental fatigue, which proposes that people become more fatigued when the next-best alternative to the current task is higher in value. In three preregistered experiments (total N = 300), participants repeatedly reported their current level of fatigue and chose to perform a paid labor task vs an unpaid leisure task. In Study 1, all participants were offered the same labor/leisure choice. In Studies 2 and 3, we manipulated the opportunity costs of a labor task through the value of an alternative leisure task. In all studies, we found that people were more likely to choose for leisure as they became more fatigued. We did not find that the manipulated leisure value influenced the amount of fatigue participants experienced nor the likelihood to choose for leisure. However, in exploratory analyses, we found (and replicated) that participants who reported to value the leisure task more got more fatigued during labor and less fatigued during leisure. Collectively, these results provide cautious support for the opportunity cost model, but they also show that cost-benefit analyses relating to labor and leisure tasks are fleeting.

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Maximising utility does not promote survival

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x13000976 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 36 (6) ◽

pp. 685-685

Author(s):

Daniel B. Cohen ◽

Lauren L. Saling

Keyword(s):

Opportunity Cost ◽

Cost Model ◽

Opportunity Costs ◽

Over Time

AbstractWe argue that maximising utility does not promote survival. Hence, there is no reason to expect people to modulate effort according to a task's opportunity costs. There is also no reason why our evaluation of the marginal opportunity costs of tasks should predictably rise with repetition. Thus, the opportunity cost model cannot explain why tasks typically become harder over time.

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Beyond dopamine: The noradrenergic system and mental effort

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x13001106 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 36 (6) ◽

pp. 698-699 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Nicholas J. Malecek ◽

Russell A. Poldrack

Keyword(s):

Control Systems ◽

Opportunity Cost ◽

Cost Model ◽

Neural Model ◽

Mental Effort ◽

Self Control ◽

Noradrenergic System ◽

Reciprocal Connections ◽

Flexible Integration

AbstractAn opportunity cost model of effort requires flexible integration of valuation and self-control systems. Reciprocal connections between these networks and brainstem neuromodulatory systems are likely to provide the signals that affect subsequent persistence or failure when faced with effort challenges. The interaction of these systems should be taken into account to strengthen a normative neural model of effort.

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The Role of Preferences and Opportunity Costs in Determining the Time Allocated to Housework

The American Economic Review ◽

10.1257/aer.102.3.606 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 102 (3) ◽

pp. 606-611 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

Leslie S Stratton

Keyword(s):

Multivariate Analysis ◽

Time Use ◽

Opportunity Cost ◽

Opportunity Costs ◽

Household Chores ◽

Food Shopping ◽

Time Use Survey ◽

Cost Of Time ◽

Necessary Evil

Research on intrahousehold time allocations has assumed that housework is a necessary evil and focused exclusively on the causal role of opportunity costs. In fact, agents likely act to maximize happiness, and preferences regarding even mundane household chores differ considerably. I use information from the 2000-01 UK Time Use Survey to examine time spent on laundry, ironing, cleaning, and food shopping. Joint multivariate analysis of his and her time on weekend and weekday days as well as maid service reveals that her opportunity cost of time matters more than his, but that his preferences play a greater role than hers.

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The opportunity cost model: Automaticity, individual differences, and self-control resources

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x1300099x ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 36 (6) ◽

pp. 687-688 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Martin S. Hagger

Keyword(s):

Individual Differences ◽

Opportunity Cost ◽

Cost Model ◽

Limited Resource ◽

Self Control ◽

Task Persistence ◽

S Model

AbstractI contend that Kurzban et al.'s model is silent on three issues. First, the extent to which opportunity-cost computations are automatic or deliberative is unclear. Second, the role of individual differences in biasing opportunity-cost computations needs elucidating. Third, in the absence of “next-best” tasks, task persistence will be indefinite, which seems unfeasible, so perhaps integration with a limited-resource account is necessary.

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HIV/AIDS, Life Expectancy, and the Opportunity Cost Model of Civil War

Journal of Conflict Resolution ◽

10.1177/0022002716628281 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 61 (10) ◽

pp. 2130-2157 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Tyler Kustra

Keyword(s):

Civil War ◽

Life Expectancy ◽

Opportunity Cost ◽

Cost Model ◽

Cost Benefit ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Opportunity Costs ◽

Civilian Life ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Hiv Aids

This article views death in battle as an opportunity cost whose size is determined by the number of years a rebel would have lived as a civilian. As civilian life expectancy declines, this opportunity cost does too, increasing the probability of rebellion. This theory is tested with a tragic natural experiment: the HIV/AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa. Using male circumcision rates as an instrument for life expectancy, the analysis shows that a one-year increase in life expectancy decreases the probability of civil war by 2.6 percentage points. This supports the theory that opportunity costs are important determinants of conflict onset and that nonpecuniary opportunity costs should be taken into account. This article concludes by noting that cost–benefit analyses of public health interventions should include decreases in the probability of civil war, and the attendant benefits in terms of lives saved and material damage prevented, in their calculations.

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Health opportunity costs

Distributional Cost-Effectiveness Analysis ◽

10.1093/med/9780198838197.003.0009 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 174-194

Author(s):

James Love-Koh

Keyword(s):

Economic Evaluation ◽

Opportunity Cost ◽

Careful Consideration ◽

Data Availability ◽

Alternative Methods ◽

Opportunity Costs ◽

Net Benefit ◽

Scenario Analyses ◽

Health Programme

The net benefit of a health programme is defined as the benefits it generates minus its opportunity costs. Accounting for opportunity costs—the value of resources in their most highly valued alternative use—is an essential part of economic evaluation. This chapter discusses the role of health opportunity costs in equity-informative economic evaluation and describes some approaches to quantifying both total health opportunity costs and their distribution. Alternative methods are proposed where data availability is limited, emphasizing careful consideration of the funding context along with scenario analyses to examine the implications of alternative levels and patterns of health opportunity cost.

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