Book contents
- The Cognitive Science of Belief
- The Cognitive Science of Belief
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures and Tables
- Contributors
- Chapter 1 Introduction
- Part I Understanding Belief
- Part II Domains of Beliefs
- Religion and Morality
- Economics and Politics
- Chapter 13 Political Belief Formation: Individual Differences and Situational Factors
- Chapter 14 Americans’ Lack of Political Beliefs and the Consequences for Democracy
- Chapter 15 Thoughts and Players: An Introduction to Old and New Economic Perspectives on Beliefs
- Science and Race
- Part III Variation in Beliefs
- Index
- References
Chapter 15 - Thoughts and Players: An Introduction to Old and New Economic Perspectives on Beliefs
from Economics and Politics
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 November 2022
- The Cognitive Science of Belief
- The Cognitive Science of Belief
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures and Tables
- Contributors
- Chapter 1 Introduction
- Part I Understanding Belief
- Part II Domains of Beliefs
- Religion and Morality
- Economics and Politics
- Chapter 13 Political Belief Formation: Individual Differences and Situational Factors
- Chapter 14 Americans’ Lack of Political Beliefs and the Consequences for Democracy
- Chapter 15 Thoughts and Players: An Introduction to Old and New Economic Perspectives on Beliefs
- Science and Race
- Part III Variation in Beliefs
- Index
- References
Summary
In this chapter we summarize how economists conceptualize beliefs. Moving both backward and forward in time, we review the way that mainstream economics currently deals with beliefs, as well as, briefly, the history of economists’ thinking about beliefs. Most importantly, we introduce the reader to a recent, transformational movement in economics that focuses on belief-based utility. This approach challenges the standard economic assumption that beliefs are only an input to decision making and examines implications of the intuitive idea that people derive pleasure and pain directly from their beliefs. We also address the question of when and why people care about what other people believe. We close with a discussion of the implications of these insights for contemporary social issues such as political polarization and fake news.
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- Information
- The Cognitive Science of BeliefA Multidisciplinary Approach, pp. 321 - 350Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022
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