Economic Psychology Research Articles

APPROACHES TO DEFINING THE SOCIOECONOMIC PARADIGM AS A CONCEPTUAL MODEL OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The relevance of the topic is linked to the fact that socialization remains a global trend in economic development. However, in the context of the VUCA and BANI world, the task is not only to recognize changes and adapt to shifting circumstances, but also to make rational decisions, set new goals, and apply new algorithms. In such conditions, the socio-economic paradigm acts as a conceptual model of economic development. It represents a paradigmatic framework for studying socio-economic processes through the application of methodological approaches from disciplines such as economic sociology, economic theory, economic psychology, institutional economics, behavioral economics, and others. Therefore, the task of clarifying its content becomes relevant. The aim of the article is to identify and characterize the conceptual foundations of the socio-economic paradigm and the methodological approaches to its substantiation. The article outlines the content of the socio-economic paradigm as a conceptual model of economic development. It describes its substantive premises, reveals the cause-and-effect relationships between economic and social processes, defines the methodological approaches for studying and comparing socio-economics with other paradigms of economic development, and highlights the need to study the degree of influence of social sciences on the economy and the economy on social processes. It is proven that the economic version of socio-economics assumes that the social sphere, as well as various social processes, not only affect the economy but are also dependent on it, and this dependence requires economic evaluation. Socio-economics represents a scientific field that studies the patterns of modern economic life in the context of moral imperatives and criteria of social justice. The object of socio-economics is defined as economic activity carried out at different territorial and organizational levels, while its subject is economic relations regulated by moral and ethical requirements, attitudes, and prescriptions.

Behavioral finance in a hundred keywords

We analyze leading journals in behavioral finance to identify the most-used keywords in the area and how they have evolved. Using keyword analysis of data between 2000 and 2020 as well as data mapping and visualization tools, a dynamic map of the discipline was constructed. This study assesses the state-of-the-art of the field, main topics of discussion, relationships that arise between the concepts discussed, and emerging issues of interest. The sample comprises 3876 pieces, including 15859 keywords from journals responsible for the growth of the discipline, namely the Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Journal of Economic Psychology, Journal of Behavioral Finance, and Review of Behavioral Finance. During the period analyzed, our results depict a lively area and highlight the prominent role that experiments play in the field. Two related but different streams of behavioral finance research are revealed.

Problems of the psychology of trust and distrust in the works of a. B. Kupreichenko

The article is devoted to the scientific creativity of a leading specialist in social and economic psychology in the 2000–2010s. Alla Borisovna Kupreichenko (1962–2014). Her life path and main areas of research are described. Her work on the psychology of trust and distrust is discussed in detail. The periods of its development of these phenomena are highlighted — from the justification of trust/distrust as independent phenomena to the study of its specific forms and types. The key theoretical and methodological foundations for studying the psychology of trust/distrust in the works of A.B. Kupreichenko are analyzed and presents the substantive characteristics of her research activities.

International anniversary scientific conference “Problems of social and economic psychology: research results and prospects”

On December 7–8, 2023, the International Anniversary Scientific Conference “Problems of Social and Economic Psychology: Research Results and Prospects” was held at the Institute of Psychology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow), dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the Laboratory of Social and Economic Psychology of the IP RAS and the 75th anniversary of RAS Academician A.L. Zhuravlev. The conference included plenary and seven breakout sessions, a master class and a round table. As a result, a collection of scientific papers was published. The conference made it possible to discuss the leading scientific problems of psychology, present breakthrough areas of research (the psychology of competition, socio-psychological understanding of collective and interpersonal solidarity, scientometric analysis combining bibliometric and thematic indicators), and outline prospects for further research and cooperation. Meetings of many sections were accompanied by active discussion on issues of methodology and concept development. Also, in a number of reports, the interdisciplinary and organizational-scientific contribution in the development of modern domestic psychology of A.L. Zhuravlev was presented.

Economic psychology for laymen

Neuroeconomics can now replace the Paradigm of Bounded Rationality (BR) by a rooting in positivist economic psychology. The key finding is that the neuroeconomic Model of Decision-Making (NeM), based on neuroeconomic trials, suspends subjectivism, identifying risk-willingness as a basal parameter of economic behavior. Further, NeM and behavioral psychology (Big5 Taxonomy) integrates correlation studies into an Economic Psychology that simplifies Sensi-training in the Big5 to persons without specialism in Psychology. Finally, this Economic Psychology implicates a new interdisciplinary outlook on three domains of Economics: Evidence of the Florida Thesis on the Rise of the Creative Class as a qualitative growth effect A positivist framework for modern stress-management by classical meditative in-depth relaxation Recognition of prejudices as a special problem of behavioral science due to the interaction of subject and object Discussion focuses on the significance to economic growth theory to abandon BR. The conclusion is, that the simple model of accounting real growth in GDP, must be replaced by a tripartite model already termed 3P in management research (Planet, Personnel and Profit) including negative growth factors, too. The 3P has a common outcome in Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALY) which at the global level has a negative aggregated value in the 21 Century. So, political measures to counterbalance, for instance the damage to the climate, are discussed concluding an urgent need for a global CO2 Tariff (ET).

A simplified approach for food traveller segmentation based on involvement

ABSTRACT This study reveals a simple but effective method of segmenting food travellers (also called culinary travellers or food tourists) based on involvement. Respondents are asked a three-item battery measuring purchase involvement adapted from the Mittal & Lee's article “A causal model of consumer involvement”, published in the Journal of Economic Psychology. By adding up the scores, three segments of food travellers (high, medium, and low food travel involvement) can be identified. The three segments are significantly heterogeneous in attitudes toward food and drink, role of food and drink in destination choice, social influence on food and drink, and food and drink activities. For each attitude or behaviour, high food travel involvement travellers rate higher than medium-involvement travellers, who rate higher than low-involvement travellers. This research supports three-cluster segmentation of food tourists provided by Levitt et al.'s article “Food tourist segmentation: Attitude, behavioral intentions and travel planning behavior based on food involvement and motivation” published in the International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration, while providing a new approach that can be simply implemented by researchers and destinations without complicated statistical analysis or long lists of questions.

On the breakthrough of economic psychology

On the breakthrough of economic psychology

Gendered trait prioritization and motivations for crop varietal choice among smallholder farmers: The case of sweetpotato in Uganda

To improve productivity, several improved high-yielding sweetpotato varieties have been developed and released by breeders. However, most farmers still grow low-yielding landraces known also as farmers’ varieties. Farmers choose varieties to grow based on their preference for the attributes (traits) embodied in those varieties. Past studies have examined drivers of trait preference using neoclassical economic theory. This study departs from previous ones by applying principles from economic psychology to assess preference for, and prioritization, of sweetpotato traits among male and female sweetpotato farmers. Data used was data collected using focus group discussions and laddering, an in-depth personal interview process, and analysed using descriptive and means-end chain analyses. The study identifies mental constructs associated with farmers’ trait preference and prioritization, namely: the characteristics farmers mentally associate with the prioritized traits, the benefits those traits confer, and the life goals (i.e. values) they enable farmers to attain. Focus group discussions revealed that, among agronomic traits, high root yield is the most preferred/prioritized trait across gender categories and was followed by stress tolerance and underground root storage longevity. The most preferred quality traits across gender groups are root size and mealiness. Women, however, prioritized early maturity over men. The means-end-chain analysis identified several mental constructs farmers mentally associated with trait prioritization. They are increased sales, more income, food security, savings, and investment. These benefits are linked to various life goals (values) farmers aspire for namely, respect, security, achievement, and happiness. These findings imply that farmers’ choice of sweetpotato varieties to grow is driven by the agronomic and quality traits the varieties embody. The findings further imply that psychosocial factors underpin trait preference and prioritization by farmers.

Behavioral Economics as a Modern Market assessment tool

The market acts as the most important component of the institution of the modern world. The market means not only the relationship between consumers and sellers, but also the external environment in which they are carried out. In turn, such market relations are significantly influenced by the totality of human choices and decisions (both rational and irrational).To study the characteristics and degree of influence of various factors (emotional, social, etc.) on decision–making by economic entities, as well as their impact on the market as a whole, a new field of economics — behavioral economics — was institutionalized by economists. In this case, economic entities can be understood as groups of people, a single person, and corporations, enterprises, companies. Behavioral economics extends standard economic theory by taking into account the probability and impact of irrational human behavior on the market.Thanks to the development of behavioral economics, which is based on the achievements of economic theory, psychology, (more management psychology, economic psychology), sociology, philosophy (attitude to work, money, spending, educated family and cultivated society), marketing (advertising, marketing research) and management (management decision–making, alignment and adjustment strategies, etc.), within the framework of market assessment, more objective results can be obtained, which will contribute to the improvement of decisions made.

Meta-analyses in Economic Psychology: A sustainable approach to cross-cultural differences

This manuscript is a methodological work on the state of research using meta-analytic procedures in Economic Psychology, with a focus on the investigation of cross-cultural differences. We review published meta-analyses and introduce a new classification thereof by data source, describing how the different categories relate to the study of cross-cultural differences. We also discuss related opportunities and challenges, proposing a sustainable methodological approach that is then implemented in three case studies where we re-analyze data from published meta-analyses. In doing so, the relevance of culture as a determinant is explored by relating country-level cultural indicators to experimental measures of risk aversion, tax compliance, and prosocial behavior, respectively. It turns out that, after we control for country-level cultural heterogeneity and economic development, country-level individualism predicts these economic outcomes. We discuss possible interpretations of our findings. meta-analysis, individualism, fractionalization, Multiple Price List, Tax Evasion Game, Dictator Game

WE economy: Potential of mutual aid distribution based on moral responsibility and risk vulnerability.

Reducing wealth inequality is a global challenge that requires the transformation of the economic systems that produce inequality. The economic system comprises: (1) gifts and reciprocity, (2) power and redistribution, (3) market exchange, and (4) mutual aid without reciprocal obligations. Current inequality stems from a capitalist economy consisting of (2) and (3). To sublimate (1), the human economy, to (4), the concept of a "mixbiotic society" has been proposed in the philosophical realm. In this society, free and diverse individuals mix, recognize their respective "fundamental incapability," and sublimate them into "WE" solidarity. Moreover, the economy must have a moral responsibility as a co-adventurer and consider its vulnerability to risk. This study focuses on two factors of mind perception-moral responsibility and risk vulnerability-and proposes a novel wealth distribution model between the two agents following an econophysical approach, whereas the conventional model dealt with redistribution through taxes and institutions. Three models are developed: a joint-venture model in which profit/losses are distributed based on their factors, a redistribution model in which wealth stocks are redistributed periodically based on their factors in the joint-venture model, and a "WE economy" model in which profit/losses are distributed based on the ratio of each other's factors. A simulation comparison reveals that WE economies are effective in reducing inequality, resilient in normalizing wealth distribution as advantages, and susceptible to free riders as disadvantages. However, this disadvantage can be compensated for by fostering fellowship and using joint ventures. This study presents the effectiveness of moral responsibility and risk vulnerability, complementarity between the WE economy and joint economy, and the direction of the economy in reducing inequality. Future challenges include developing an advanced model based on real economic analysis and economic psychology and promoting its fieldwork for worker coops and platform cooperatives to realize a desirable mixbiotic society.

Развитие проблематики отечественной экономической психологии в научном творчестве А.Л. Журавлева

<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong>Objective</strong>. The purpose of this article is to analyze the spectrum of issues developing by the academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences and of the Russian Academy of Education A.L. Zhuravlev himself and to consider the questions elaborating under his guidance – with his co-workers and students in different periods of his scientific work; the research was conducted from the perspective of analyzing the processes of formation and development of the domestic economic psychology problem field. <br><strong>Background</strong>. The existing rules of development of socio-economic systems, in particular their cyclical nature (alternation of stable and crisis periods, uneven changes in the system), indicate the actuality of historical and psychological research in the field of economic psychology in order to predict economic, psychological and socio-psychological dynamics in changing geopolitical and socio-economic conditions of society. <br><strong>Results. </strong>Changes in the management of country’s economic life in the 80s of the last century, the subsequent economic transformations in society, crises and global processes in the world economy are considered as social factors that actualize the research of socio-psychological and economic-psychological phenomena in the scientific work of A.L. Zhuravlev. Among them are: psychological readiness of the population for cardinal economic changes, the relationship of socio-psychological and economic dynamics, patterns and mechanisms of economic socialization and economic self-determination, psychological resources of economic development of society and other phenomena. <br><strong>Conclusions. </strong>Three main stages in the development of the issues of domestic economic psychology presented in the scientific work of A.L. Zhuravlev was reveled. The connection of the studied economic-psychological and socio-psychological phenomena with the socio-economic dynamics of public life is shown.</p>

The Importance of Personality Psychology in the Study of Prosocial Consumer Attitudes – Implications for Research in the Field of Socially Responsible Marketing

Theoretical background: This article is based, regarding the theoretical foundations, on selected issues of behavioral economy and economic psychology, which question the classical assumptions of the homo oeconomicus concept and the standard approach to studying the consumers’ attitudes and behaviors. Purpose of the article: The system of individual and socially shared consumer values undergoes evolutionary changes in the modern, turbulent socio-economic reality. The thesis has been put forward that in the post-pandemic realities, because of the re-evaluation of given values, psychological factors play an increasingly important role in shaping pro-social consumer attitudes, and the consumer’s personality largely determines favorable attitudes towards socially responsible marketing initiatives. The article is conceptual in nature. It provides a theoretical background for the authors’ planned empirical research. The main objective of this paper is to define the new research areas for socially responsible marketing, in which personality psychology could play a significant role in identifying consumers’ pro-social attitudes. Research methods: Given the need for an interdisciplinary approach to studying consumers’ pro-social attitudes, a review was conducted of the literature on the subject concerning the behavioral economy and economic psychology, with a special emphasis on the issue of personality. Main findings: The literature studies and observation of the socio-economic reality aimed at identifying new direction of empirical research in socially responsible marketing. Four main research areas were proposed to which the appropriate marketing types were assigned: post-COVID reality (social marketing and cause-related marketing); healthcare (social marketing); the reality of war (social marketing and cause-related marketing; ecology – green marketing). The empirical studies based on personality psychology in the areas indicated above could refer to the concept of goal-oriented behavior psychology and the Five Factor Model.

Research on Consumer Behavior in E-commerce Based on Economic Psychology Analysis

E-commerce is a relatively new way of trade, which brings production enterprises, circulation enterprises and consumption enterprises into a brand-new era of network economy and digital existence. Consumption behavior can be divided into positive consumption and negative consumption. The marketing factor is a good business strategy to change consumers from passive purchase to active purchase. A targeted marketing by an enterprise will greatly stimulate the purchase desire of the target consumers and prompt them to buy. At this time, it is very important to be good at analyzing the economic psychology in marketing, deeply understanding and controlling the consumer psychology, so as to promote marketing. This paper analyzes the economic psychology of consumers' online consumption and the specific performance of consumers' behavior in e-commerce, and puts forward how modern enterprises formulate relevant marketing strategies in the face of the specific psychology of online consumers.

Wellbeing: An economic psychology perspective

Wellbeing plays a key role in economic psychology, illustrating how psychological mechanisms impact on economic factors. Wellbeing is vital for occupational psychologists as it allows for the development of interventions to protect and improve workers health. The contribution of economic psychology has received little attention within occupational psychology to improve the measurements of individual wellbeing. The aim of this commentary paper was to bring forward a call to action of two methods that have been used in economic psychology that occupational psychologists can adopt to better measure wellbeing. This commentary paper is based on the insights of Kirchler and Hoelzl (2018) and both time-sample diaries and day reconstruction methods. The analysis showed that by using time-sample diaries, occupational psychologists could better understand the current mood, current mental state and objective characteristics of worker situations. This commentary article identified that by using day reconstruction method, occupational psychologists can have a better insight into employee experiences and feelings in a timely manner. This commentary article recommends that by using insights from economic psychology, occupational psychologists can better measure the wellbeing of workers using time-sample diaries and day reconstruction methods. The paper should, therefore, be of value to scholars and practitioners wishing to improve wellbeing.

Green Dental Environmentalism among Students and Dentists in Greece

Ηuman sustainability in dental enterprises, as in every workplace, is connected to air and water quality, eco-friendly and naturally designed working spaces, and the culture of the 4Rs. The purpose of this study was to assess pro-environmental behavior, as well as knowledge of preferences for circular economies and green building construction, among a sample of dental students and dentists in Greece. We further assessed the factors influencing their choices. Students (N1 = 93) and dentists (N2 = 126) filled in e-questionnaires from April to December 2022. The data revealed that both students and dentists lack knowledge about the circular economy (N1 = 67.74%, N2 = 68.25%), EU regulations on amalgam disposal (N1 = 64.51%, N2 = 58.73%), and plastic recycling (N1 = 76.34%, N2 = 76.98%); meanwhile, they do recycle at home (N1 = 80.64%, N2 = 82.54%) and have participated in voluntary environmental initiatives (N1 = 58.06%, N2 = 66.66%). Gender influences the importance of factors related to green dental practices, with women students being more likely to agree that increased costs for network changes (p = 0.02) and poor wastewater management (p = 0.01) are significant. Students from urban areas are more likely to give positive answers to questions related to the lack of state financial support (p = 0.02), low levels of green design in buildings (p = 0.03), the negligible direct financial benefits of green dental offices (p = 0.04), the negligible reputational benefits of green dental offices (p = 0.02), and the lack of continuing education training seminars on green dentistry (p = 0.05). For dentists, no significant relationships were observed, except for a weak positive relationship for the increases in costs due to changes related to utility networks (p = 0.08), while increases in waste energy (p = 0.12) and the waste of dental materials (p = 0.19) seemed significant only for dentists in urban areas. Women dentists were more likely to answer positively regarding wasting energy (p = 0.024) and the use of unapproved disinfection products (p = 0.036). The findings contribute ideas and solutions for green dental practice buildings and sustainable behaviors through educational activities and regarding the social aspects of factors such as age, experience in dentistry, gender, and urbanism. This study also provides a basis for future multi-disciplinary research on dental quality assurance, the psychology of environmentalism, economics, and behavioral science in dentistry.

Years. People. Books: Scientific-publishing Activity of the Institute of Psychology of the RAS: Scientific-organizational and Bibliometric Aspects (1972–2021)

The article presents a thematic and linguistic analysis of scientific publications of the staff of the Institute of Psychology of the Russian Academy of Sciences for 1972–2021. The most frequent terms (by groups of history, theory and methodology, general psychology, social and economic psychology, personality psychology, engineering psychology, labor and organizational psychology, psychophysiology, development psychology) and specific key words are identified; the measure of lexical similarity of text corpus of publications from different decades is determined. On the basis of the obtained data, the dominant research directions of the staff of the Institute of Psychology in 1972–1981, 1982–1991, 1992–2001, 2002–2011, and 2012–2021 are established. The presented indicators are substantiated as a program and a set of procedures for quantitative analysis of the publication activity of a scientific organization.

СТРАТЕГІЇ ТА ТАКТИКИ ПСИХОЛОГІЇ МАРКЕТИНГОВОЇ ЦІНОВОЇ ПОЛІТИКИ

The article, using the components of economic psychology, considers the schemes of the decisionmaking process of an individual in the consumption of various goods and services. The peculiarities of marketing pricing in the cost and value approaches are revealed. It is determined that marketing pricing in general and specific prices in particular are the most important factors that determine consumer choice and customer behavior. The right marketing pricing strategy and tactics are the key to business success in many cases. The main thing that determines the demand for a product and its price is its qualities, such as relative rarity and innovation. From the point of view of economic psychology, the author presents and discusses the characteristics of buyer behavior that directly affect his or her attitude to the price level of a product or service and his or her reaction to price changes: psychology of the price barrier; psychological aspects of number perception; psychology of regular or traditional prices; psychology of price comparison; psychology of price perception for large packages of goods or sets of goods; psychology of price decomposition and analysis; psychology of fashion prices, etc. The models of consumer behavior and his/her motivation when deciding on the need to buy and, directly, the purchase of goods are considered. It is substantiated that monitoring of these nuances and their use allows the manufacturer to significantly facilitate the process of pricing its goods and make a more accurate calculation of a "fair" price that will not alienate the consumer. The author considers the psychological aspects that should be taken into account when finalizing the price; analyzes the strategies and tactics of marketing pricing. The most common risks that consumers face in the process of making their choice are analyzed: monetary risk; functional risk; physical risk; social risk; psychological risk. An analysis of consumer behavior based on the proposed models and the risks to which consumers are exposed when making a choice shows that many consumers are not ready, and some do not want to be responsible for making a choice and making a decision. It is determined that there are practically no such generalized formulas that can be used to calculate the optimal actions of marketers in terms of pricing technologies, since there are a number of variables that affect customer behavior: product, budget, external environment, brand, customer mood, and much more.

Development of Social-Psychological Problems in Scientific Activity of IP RAS Laboratory: Historical-Psychological Research

Article is devoted to history of scientific problems formation and development in activity of social and economic psychology laboratory Institute of psychology RAS. Dynamic of social-psychological problems is analyzed in connection with social-historical, social-economic conditions of Russian society living. Five main stages of scientifical problematic development in laboratory are highlighted. Changes in social life of the country, that generates social-psychological, economic-psychological effects in psyche and behavior of personality and group are accepted as criteria of these stages’ differentiation. It is shown that specific feature of laboratory scientific activity is variety and fundamentality of researching social-psychological problems. Contribution of IP RAS scientific department activity in development of Russian science and its applied branches is estimated. An integrative approach is emphasized in the study of socio-psychological problems, which combines works of employees performed in the humanitarian and natural science paradigms. New promising areas of research in IP RAS department scientific activity are highlighted.

МОДЕЛИ ПОВЕДЕНИЯ ЧЕЛОВЕКА В ЭКОНОМИКЕ

Economic psychology, as one of the directions of economic science, analyzes human behavior in society in terms of a choice between efficiency and fairness, profit and honor, needs and values, etc. The economic behavior of an individual is a complex process of choosing from a variety of alternatives in order to find the most rational or satisfactory result of activity. At the same time, external and internal factors limiting a person's choice for making such a decision are considered. An economic person is faced with the task of achieving the maximum possible result of activity in certain conditions of existence on the basis of determining a specific set of benefits, information on minimizing risks and monitoring the behavior of participants in economic activity. Choosing the optimal solution in the conditions of receiving a huge amount of information is complicated due to its change over time. At the same time, the search for new information leads to significant time expenditures, the choice of options for actions is carried out by the mechanisms of habit, tradition or routine. The behavior of individuals, their desire to maximize their own benefits to the detriment of the position of other individuals is expressed in the fact that economic entities try to minimize costs and losses by developing certain rules, norms of behavior, including coercive measures against those who violate them. The choice of the range of available alternative behaviors by the subject assumes, in general, from the point of view of the theory of adaptive rationality, two behavioral aspects. On the one hand, the subject must make decisions in the existing institutional environment, where there are prerequisites that influence the selection process. On the other hand, the subject also has the opportunity to choose not only between behaviors within the same institutional structure, but also, through real actions, to choose between different institutions. The main behavioral prerequisites of institutionalism include limited rationality, polymotivation and opportunism.