Mechanisms Underlying Economic Revealed Preference Of Multi-Component Bundles In Primate Orbitofrontal Cortex

ABSTRACTClassic neuro-economic studies suggest that people and animals alike assign values to individual attributes arriving at a total summed valuation and therefore overall appraisal of the offer (Kahnt et al., 2011; Lak et al., 2014). However, further work is needed to determine whether such individual attribute appraisals can predict choice between multi-component bundles. In this paper we show the importance and applications of economic theory to decision neurophysiology concerning multi-component attribute options or bundles. We applied random utility modelling (McFadden, 1973) to choices amongst 10 different two-component bundles in non-human primates (Macacca mulatta). We found that behavioural random utility (RUM) complies well with revealed preference theory and recapitulates the fundamental properties of empirically obtained indifference curves (IC) revealing the synergetic interactions between components. We extended RUM to neurophysiological data and focused our investigation to orbitofrontal cortex A13. Neuronal RUM complied with behavioural RUM at single neuron and population level (N:54). Neural coding of utility was present at target onset, choice, and reward. However, a distinct and separate group of neurons (N:26) showed partial compliance with utility in either the chosen or the unchosen bundle options and correlated with both value and probability of choice. We show that relative chosen-utility coding constitutes a separate type of computation and suggest a role for this type of neuron in value-to-choice processing in OFC.

Tourist Choice Processing: Evaluating Decision Rules and Methods of Their Measurement

A detailed understanding of decision rules is essential in order to better explain consumption behavior, yet the variety of decision rules used have been somewhat neglected in tourism research. This study adopts an innovative method, greedoid analysis, to estimate a noncompensatory type of decision rule known as lexicographic by aspect (LBA). It is quite different from the weighted additive (WADD) model commonly assumed in tourism studies. By utilizing an experimental research design, this study enables the evaluation of the two types of decision rules regarding their predictive and explanatory power. Additionally, we introduce a novel evaluation indicator (“cost”), which allows further investigation of the heterogeneity in the use of decision rules. The results suggest that although the out-of-sample accuracy is lower, the LBA model has a better explanatory performance on respondents’ preference order. Moreover, the different perspective provided by the LBA model is useful for obtaining managerial implications.

Hybrid Bishop-Hill model combined finite element analysis for elastic-yield limited design

Purpose – Microstructure-sensitive design (MSD), for optimal performance of engineering components that are sensitive to material anisotropy, has largely been confined to the realm of theory. The purpose of this paper is to insert the MSD framework into a finite element environment in order to arrive at a practical tool for improved selection and design of materials for critical engineering situations. Design/methodology/approach – This study applies the recently developed Hybrid Bishop-Hill (HBH) model to map the yield surface of anisotropic oxygen free electronic copper. Combining this information with the detailed local stresses determined via finite element analysis (FEA), a “configurational yield stress” is determined for the entire component. By varying the material choice/processing conditions and selecting the directionality of anisotropy, an optimal configuration is found. Findings – The paper provides a new FEA-based framework for MSD for yield-limited situations. The approach identified optimal directionality and processing configurations for three engineering situations that are particularly sensitive to material anisotropy. Research limitations/implications – The microstructure design space for this study is limited to a selection of eight copper materials produced by a range of processing methods, but is generalizable to many materials that exhibit anisotropic behavior. Originality/value – The introduction of MSD methodology into a finite element environment is a first step toward a comprehensive designer toolkit for exploiting the anisotropy of general materials (such as metals) in a way that is routinely undertaken in the world of fiber-based composite materials. While the gains are not as sizeable (due to the less-extreme anisotropy), in many applications they may be extremely important.

Choice output and choice processing: An analogy to similarity

The target article suggests that many practices of experimental economists are preferable to those used by psychologists studying judgment and decision making. The advantages of the psychological approach become clear when the focus of research shifts from choice output to choice processes. I illustrate this point with an example from research on similarity comparisons.