The flashcards below were created by user
sarahrei
on FreezingBlue Flashcards.
-
Describe traditional economics.
- Rational actor
- People act to enhance own benefit; make decisions in own self-interest economically
- Money
- Health
- Satisfaction
-
Describe behavioral economics.
- Irrational elements of behavior
- Irrational in predictable ways
-
Describe how behavioral economics is applied to health behavior.
- Focus is on making choices among alternatives
- Alcohol use
- Tobacco use
- Food selection
- Physical activity
- Choices between consumer products
-
What are the ecological elements to the behavioral ecomonic perspective?
- Intra-personal elements: individual decision making process
- Environmental elements: external influences on decision making
-
What are the 3 basic behavioral ecomonics concepts?
- Reinforcements influence choice among alternatives
- People use reference points to choose behaviors
- People make cognitive errors - irrational in a predictable way
-
Describe how "reinforcements" influence choice among alternatives.
- SCT opperant conditioning
- What "reinforces" the behavior?
- Social acceptability / social group identification
- Stress relief / burst of feeling / pharmacologic effect of nicotine
- Association of pleasure of nicotine with other pleasant activities
- Enhance value of desired behavior
-
Describe how indentifying alternatives and their reinforcement values can influence behavior.
- Identify alternative sources of reinforcement
- What alternative could supply reinforcements?
- NRT, stress relief, meditation, yoga (physiologic response)
- Change in social group
- Food/beverage (association of pleasure with nicotine)
- Ads address glamour - no longer glamourous
- Ads that adjust descriptive norms (social acceptibility)
-
How can the concept of "alternative reinforcement" be applied to other behaviors?
- Low-nutrient food, such as regular soft drinks
- What reinforcement functions does the food supply? -- Taste
- What are the possible alternatives? -- Similar product with fewer calories, juices, etc.
-
Describe how people use "reference points" to choose behaviors.
- Reference points are derived from the world around us; what seems normal, fun, easy?
- Norms
- Message framing (+ , -)
- Default decision making
- Cues the world gives us about ways to behave
-
Describe how norms influence behavioral ecomonics / reference points.
- Social norms (what others do)
- Other implied norms (what seems "normal" in a given environment; effect context)--environmental reference points
-
Describe environmental reference points for food consumption.
- Normal portion size (what we see around us; visual distortion caused by plates, glasses)
- Comparison to other choices (menu, cafeteria line, within a store, can all items been seen at once/menu - sequentially/cafeteria - sought out/store?
-
How do portion sizes give us a reference point?
- Typical portion sizes give us a reference point for how much is appropriate to eat/drink.
- Size of hamburger, soft drink
-
How does the way food is served give us a reference point?
- How food is served gives us a visual point for quantity
- Size/shape of plates, glasses, bowls
- Shape of food (cube/slices)
-
How does the way items are displayed give us a reference point?
- How items are displayed in a store influences the perception of what is normal to buy here.
- Location of items as you walk in, end caps, etc.
-
How does the quantity of food displayed give us a reference point?
A larger quantity of food on display give the impression of a purchasing "norm".
-
How does availability give us a reference point?
- What is available in cafeteria lines influence perception of what is normal to buy
- Compounded by not being able to see all alternatives at once.
-
Describe the impact of message framing.
- Sets a new norm - other things instead of "good health"
- What seems normal, fun, easy
- Physical Activity:
- Typical health education frame - regular physical activity is important for good health
- Typical commercial resource frame - join your friends in this great class; challenge yourself to a new you; hurry! there is limited space - implies everyone is doing it
-
Describe default decision making.
- People will make choices that are "easier"
- Structure situations to make healthier choices easier
- Examples: keep items near register, smaller convenience packs
-
What are the 5 ways people make cognitive errors?
- Avoidance of risk
- Delay discounting
- Inadequate information
- Influence of physiologic states, emotions, etc.
- Reasoning by "heuristics" (rules of thumb) rather than specific information (status quo bias)
-
Describe avoidance of risk.
- Most people are loss averse and will take steps to avoid loss even if it reduces probability of gain
- May be unwilling to risk experimenting with unfamiliar food or activity due to concern about loss
- Solutions:
- Role model
- Free sample
- 30 day / 2 classes - free membership
- Money back guarantee, buddy
- Avoid loss by paying for it (don't go to waste)
- Coupon/groupon - assign value
-
Describe delay discounting.
- Value of small immediate reqard preferred to larger, delayed reward
- Pfreference for $10 today versus $100 a month from now; etc.
- Solutions:
- Compare / relate to something else
- Package / preparation suggestions
-
Describe inadequate information.
Not knowing true price (per pound), not knowing health implications
-
Describe the influence of physioligic states, emotions, etc.
Hungry, stressed, sad
-
Describe reasoning by heuristics (rules of thumb) rather than specific infoamtion (status quo bias).
Easiest to follow old habits
-
Example: Should I buy ice cream or an apple with my lunch? The rational perspective says I should consider ...
- Dollar costs
- Long term consequences of consumption
- Quality of life issues; satisfaction
-
Example: Should I buy ice cream or an apple with my lunch? Consider Concept #1 - Reinforcement properties of alternatives ...
- What are possible reinforcement properties of these two choices?
- Solution: physiologic association / taste, self-satisfaction
- How could these reinforcement properties be restructured?
- Solution: peanut butter/apples, pick a healthier ice cream/frozen yogurt, reward property (if possible)
-
Example: Should I buy ice cream or an apple with my lunch? Consider Concept #2 - What are the reference points that influence my choice? How can those be modified?
- Norms
- Message framing
- Default decision making (what is easiest)
- Solution: modify location, larger quantity, ice cream last available if in cafeteria
-
Example: Should I buy ice cream or an apple with my lunch? Consider Concept #3 - What are some of the "irrational" thinking aspects that might influence my choice?
- Delay discounting
- Risk avoidance
- Lack of information
- Physiologic state (make me feel better)
- Heuristics/habit (how parents buy groceries / always get what you get)
- Solution: pre-packaged or sliced
-
List the key concepts of behavioral economics.
- Behavioral economic perspective is not a single, unified theory of behavior - elements do not come together into a unified predictive or behavior change model
- Gives some ideas of how subtle environmental cues affect behavior
- Gives perspectives on some "irrational" patterns in human thinking
- Observations on how we make decisions
|
|