Exploring a Dualism of Human Rationality: Experimental Study of a Cheating Contest Game
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Economics Department, ESB Business School, Reutlingen University, 72762 Reutlingen, Germany
2
Reutlingen Research Institute (RRI), 72762 Reutlingen, Germany
3
Institute of Finance and Economics (IFE), Reutlingen University, 72762 Reutlingen, Germany
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editors: Kuo-Ping Lin, Chien-Chih Wang, Liang Dong and Chieh-Liang Wu
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(13), 7675; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19137675
Received: 23 April 2022
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Revised: 15 June 2022
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Accepted: 20 June 2022
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Published: 23 June 2022
(This article belongs to the Topic Multi-Criteria Decision Making)
Rational behavior is a standard assumption in science. Indeed, rationality is required for environmental action towards net-zero emissions or public health interventions during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Yet, little is known about the elements of rationality. This paper explores a dualism of rationality comprised of optimality and consistency. By designing a new guessing game, we experimentally uncover and disentangle two building blocks of human rationality: the notions of optimality and consistency. We find evidence that rationality is largely associated to optimality and weakly to consistency. Remarkably, under uncertainty, rationality gradually shifts to a heuristic notion. Our findings provide insights to better understand human decision making.
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Keywords:
guessing game; dualism of rationality; optimality; consistency; psychology; behavioral sciences; policy making; decision making
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MDPI and ACS Style
Herzog, B.; Schnee, S. Exploring a Dualism of Human Rationality: Experimental Study of a Cheating Contest Game. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 7675. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19137675
AMA Style
Herzog B, Schnee S. Exploring a Dualism of Human Rationality: Experimental Study of a Cheating Contest Game. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(13):7675. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19137675
Chicago/Turabian StyleHerzog, Bodo, and Stefanie Schnee. 2022. "Exploring a Dualism of Human Rationality: Experimental Study of a Cheating Contest Game" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 13: 7675. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19137675
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