scholarly journals Motivated Bayesians: Feeling Moral While Acting Egoistically

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 189-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Gino ◽  
Michael I. Norton ◽  
Roberto A. Weber
Keyword(s):  
Utility Function ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Economic Framework ◽  
A Value ◽  
Psychology And Economics ◽  
Self Interest ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
Natural Way

Research yields ample evidence that individual's behavior often reflects an apparent concern for moral considerations. A natural way to interpret evidence of such motives using an economic framework is to add an argument to the utility function such that agents obtain utility both from outcomes that yield only personal benefits and from acting kindly, honestly, or according to some other notion of “right.” Indeed, such interpretations can account for much of the existing empirical evidence. However, a growing body of research at the intersection of psychology and economics produces findings inconsistent with such straightforward, preference-based interpretations for moral behavior. In particular, while people are often willing to take a moral act that imposes personal material costs when confronted with a clear-cut choice between “right” and “wrong,” such decisions often seem to be dramatically influenced by the specific contexts in which they occur. In particular, when the context provides sufficient flexibility to allow plausible justification that one can both act egoistically while remaining moral, people seize on such opportunities to prioritize self-interest at the expense of morality. In other words, people who appear to exhibit a preference for being moral may in fact be placing a value on feeling moral, often accomplishing this goal by manipulating the manner in which they process information to justify taking egoistic actions while maintaining this feeling of morality.

A Truce in Criminal Law’s Distributive Principle Wars?

2020 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 565-583
Author(s):  
Paul H. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Justice ◽  
Criminal Justice System ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Crime Control ◽  
Criminal Liability ◽  
A Value ◽  
Principles Of Justice ◽  
Past Wrongs

Crime-control utilitarians and retributivist philosophers have long been at war over the appropriate distributive principle for criminal liability and punishment, with little apparent possibility of reconciliation between the two. In the utilitarians’ view, the imposition of punishment can be justified only by the practical benefit that it provides: avoiding future crime. In the retributivists’ view, doing justice for past wrongs is a value in itself that requires no further justification. The competing approaches simply use different currencies: fighting future crime versus doing justice for past wrongs. It is argued here that the two are in fact reconcilable, in a fashion. We cannot declare a winner in the distributive principle wars but something more like a truce. Specifically, good utilitarians ought to support a distributive principle based upon desert because the empirical evidence suggests that doing justice for past wrongdoing is likely the most effective and efficient means of controlling future crime. A criminal justice system perceived by the community as conflicting with its principles of justice provokes resistance and subversion, whereas a criminal justice system that earns a reputation for reliably doing justice is one whose moral credibility inspires deference, assistance, and acquiescence, and is more likely to have citizens internalize its norms of what is truly condemnable conduct. Retributivists ought to support empirical desert as a distributive principle because, while it is indeed distinct from deontological desert, there exists an enormous overlap between the two, and it seems likely that empirical desert may be the best practical approximation of deontological desert. Indeed, some philosophers would argue that the two are necessarily the same.

The Attention Economy and Esports: An Econometric Analysis of Twitch Viewership

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Nicholas M. Watanabe ◽  
Hanhan Xue ◽  
Joshua I. Newman ◽  
Grace Yan
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Approach ◽  
Econometric Analysis ◽  
Scarce Resource ◽  
Structural Factors ◽  
Sport Organizations ◽  
Economic Framework ◽  
Attention Economy ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
And Behaviors ◽  
Using Data

With the expansion of the esports industry, there is a growing body of literature examining the motivations and behaviors of consumers and participants. The current study advances this line of research by considering esports consumption through an economic framework, which has been underutilized in this context. Specifically, the “attention economy” is introduced as a theoretical approach—which operates with the understanding that due to increased connectivity and availability of information, it is the attention of consumers that becomes a scarce resource for which organizations must compete. Using data from the Twitch streaming platform, the results of econometric analysis further highlight the importance of structural factors in drawing attention from online viewers. As such, this research advances the theoretical and empirical understanding of online viewership behaviors, while also providing important ramifications for both esports and traditional sport organizations attempting to capture the attention of users in the digital realm.

scholarly journals Intrahousehold Decision Making and Fertility

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias Doepke ◽  
Fabian Kindermann
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Utility Function ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Important Determinant ◽  
Household Formation ◽  
Joint Decision ◽  
Considerable Heterogeneity ◽  
Unitary Model ◽  
Fertility Choices ◽  
Intrahousehold Decision Making

This chapter analyzes the implications of modeling fertility choices as outcomes of intrahousehold conflict and bargaining. It argues for a reformulation of fertility theories that are embedded in more realistic theories of household formation and joint decision making within the household. Empirical evidence suggests that disagreement regarding fertility choices is commonplace. In addition to a level difference in the desired fertility of women and men, there is evidence of considerable heterogeneity across households. The data on fertility preferences suggests at least the possibility that within-household disagreement on fertility is an important determinant of fertility outcomes. The chapter also shows how the vast majority of economic models of fertility have been based on a unitary model of the household, where the household is conceived as a single entity with a single utility function.

CHOQUET INTEGRAL MODELS AND INDEPENDENCE CONCEPTS IN MULTIATTRIBUTE UTILITY THEORY

2000 ◽  
Vol 08 (04) ◽  
pp. 385-415 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. MUROFUSHI ◽  
M. SUGENO
Keyword(s):  
Utility Function ◽  
Utility Theory ◽  
Choquet Integral ◽  
Fuzzy Measure ◽  
Multiattribute Utility ◽  
Preference Relations ◽  
Multiattribute Utility Theory ◽  
A Value ◽  
Utility Independence

This paper discusses multiattribute preference relations compatible with a value/utility function represented by the Choquet integral with respect to a fuzzy measure, and shows that the additivity of the fuzzy measure is equivalent to each of mutual preferential independence, mutual weak difference independence, mutual difference independence, mutual utility independence, and additive independence.

POVERTY, PROSPERITY, AND THE MENTAL HEALTH OF CHILDREN

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1978 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-12
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Low Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Psychosocial Development ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
Low Socioeconomic ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Educational Disadvantage

Although poverty and low socioeconomic status are associated with higher rates and more disabling consequences of various mental disorders in adults, the association between these factors and the occurrence of mental health problems in children is less clear-cut and may vary between different types of community. Since poverty is often the background for a whole cluster of psychosocial phenomena (e.g., broken homes, loose family ties, educational disadvantage, increased rates of delinquency and crime, illegitimate births) it is likely that its effects on child mental health are mediated through those factors rather than through income levels only. While the evidence is not complete, it appears that when poverty or low social status lead to family disorganization and disruption, then there are adverse effects on the mental health and psychosocial development of children. If the relief of poverty facilitates family functioning, the mental health benefits of such measures may be substantial. On the other hand, raising the level of income alone does not automatically have this beneficial effect, and there is ample evidence from many developed countries that increasing affluence does not reduce the extent and frequency of mental health problems. Indeed, children in developed countries have considerable mental health problems in spite of prosperity.

Preferences, Utility, and Stochastic Approximation

2018 ◽  
pp. 2188-2199
Author(s):  
Yuri P. Pavlov ◽  
Rumen D. Andreev
Keyword(s):  
Complex System ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Utility Function ◽  
Stochastic Approximation ◽  
Mathematical Description ◽  
Innovative Approach ◽  
Precise Information ◽  
A Value ◽  
Active Assistance

A complex system with human participation like “human-process” is characterized with active assistance of the human in the determination of its objective and in decision-taking during its development. The construction of a mathematically grounded model of such a system is faced with the problem of shortage of mathematical precise information that presents the human activity. A solution of this problem is to seek expression of different aspects of the complex system through description of the expert's preferences as an element of the system. The presentation of human preferences analytically with utility functions is an approach for their mathematical description. The objective of the article is to present an innovative approach to value driven modeling of management that bases on preference-oriented decision making. It is described a decision technology that realizes measurement of human's preferences as analytic utility function. The utility theory and stochastic approximation are possible solution of this problem that results in a value-based approach to modeling of complex systems.

The Market for Corporate Control: Value, Stakeholders, and Governance

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Kershaw
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Corporate Control ◽  
Short Term ◽  
The Public ◽  
Analysis And Evaluation ◽  
Control Value ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Market For Corporate Control ◽  
Empirical Context ◽  
The Uk

This Chapter introduces the market for corporate control and provides theoretical and empirical context about the functioning and effects of the market for corporate control. Ideally such context should inform the analysis and evaluation of the Takeover Code’s regulation of the UK market for corporate control. However, as the Chapter shows, neither our understanding of the likely effects of the market for corporate control on companies, boards, shareholders and stakeholders, nor the state of empirical evidence provide clear cut guidance on how to regulate the market for corporate control. The Chapter considers evidence on the value effects of takeovers and shows that evidence from the short term market response to announced takeovers supports claims that takeovers in aggregate generate value, but the longer term evidence is more mixed and inconclusive. It also considers the methodological limitations of both the short term and long term evidence. The Chapter then proceeds to consider the effect of the market for corporate control on stakeholders. It explores the commonly held view that takeovers are detrimental for employees but finds again that the empirical evidence is inconclusive, although the theoretical case that takeover activity may undermine employee investment in the business remains compelling. The Chapter then explores the role of the market for corporate control as a governance device. It is often assumed that the market for corporate control acts as a disciplinary device holding managers to account, but as the Chapter shows the disciplinary effects work differently and less precisely than regulators and the public debate commonly assume. The Chapter also shows that such indirect effects may also mould management and board behaviour in economically suboptimal ways, which the Chapter considers in the context of the debate about the possible short term orientation of UK boards.

scholarly journals Patient-Physicians: Identities and Expertise Brought Into the Light of Diagnosis and Treatment

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-250
Author(s):  
Carlos Andrés Arroyave ◽  
Marlín Téllez
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Science And Technology Studies ◽  
Diagnosis And Treatment ◽  
Discursive Construction ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
New Meanings ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The City

Researchers continue establishing a clear-cut division between identities of doctors and patients, but the perspective of the physician in the event that they became a patient is seldom analyzed. This article shows empirical evidence of the discursive construction of identities and expertise in the accounts of 24 patient-physicians diagnosed and treated for acute or chronic disease in the city of Bogotá, Colombia (2009-2015). An approach to these accounts from Science and Technology Studies, which is a perspective emerged among the field of social sciences during the 1970s that has achieved in our time a broader understanding of expertise, leads to the questioning of stereotypes about who doctors are and who patients are, and to illustrate the difficulty of drawing boundaries between experts and laypeople. Finally, it was concluded that identities and expertise are reconfigured in interaction, in a contingent and situated way, when considering diagnosis and treatment. New meanings of the relationship between doctor and patient were proposed, from a more symmetrical stance.

The Moses Effect: The Spatial Hierarchy and Joint Accomplishment of a Blind Person Navigating

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 129-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Due ◽  
Simon Bierring Lange
Keyword(s):  
Conversation Analysis ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Blind Person ◽  
Spatial Turn ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
Spatial Hierarchy

Using ethnomethodology and conversation-analytical methodologies, this article shows how a blind person accomplishes going from A to B. Based on an analysis of a blind person’s walk from a zebra crossing to a train platform, the article offers empirical evidence of how pedestrians and the blind avoid collision in orderly and accountable ways. The article shows how the burden of the interactional work involved in avoidance seems consistently to rest on pedestrians rather than the blind. As the blind person walks, sighted pedestrians move aside. To describe this, we use the metaphor of Moses, who separated the waters. The article discusses the collaborative achievement, moral orders, and joint accomplishment of a blind person navigating in urban environments. It thereby contributes to the growing body of research within Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis studies focused on the spatial turn and public encounters by invoking a notion of hierarchy among pedestrians.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document