Project Details
Projekt
Ants as a model for economic decision-making: consumer psychology in a biological system
Applicant
Privatdozent Dr. Tomer Czaczkes
Subject Area
Sensory and Behavioural Biology
General, Cognitive and Mathematical Psychology
Economic Theory
General, Cognitive and Mathematical Psychology
Economic Theory
Term
from 2016 to 2021
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 286430553
Economic decisions are very important for humans. Many animal decisions are ultimately economic in nature. Understanding the preference for one option over another is key to understanding decision making. Making value judgments underlies all preference- options must be judged in terms of their values, and compared. The way in which value is judged thus has huge repercussions for which options are ultimately chosen.The theoretical approach to economic decision making is undergoing a paradigm shift, as a new view of how options are valued has emerged among economists. Previous models assumed that only the absolute payoff is relevant when making valuation. In the more recent model, Prospect Theory, valuation is relative i.e., value is judged in terms of the payoff relative to a reference point. Value judgment is also asymmetric, with losses looming larger than gains. This new theory of economic decisions explains many cases of human behaviour that standard economic models deemed irrational. Animals face similar problems to humans: They too must constantly value options and choose between them. Much like in early economic theory, animals are often assumed to behave rationally. In reality, however, animals also display seemingly irrational behaviour that is inconsistent with earlier economic theories. Pilot data suggests that ants, just like humans, make value judgements relative to a reference point. Moreover, their value judgment is also asymmetric. In short, their behaviour mirrors the predictions of Prospect Theory.These insights were made possible by exploiting an innate ant behaviour; the deposition of trail pheromones. Pheromone deposition represents an honest signal of value judgement, and by measuring it we can directly gauge how much an ant values an option. Here, I propose using the pheromone laying paradigm as a window into the mind of an invertebrate. In a series of experiments firmly grounded in economic and psychological theory, I will establish ants as model economic agents. I will go on to test key theories in economics and consumer psychology in this simple and unbiased system.The advantages in using invertebrates as model economic agents are manifold: It avoids the main pitfall of work on humans; cultural biases and second-guessing of the experimenters by the subjects. It allows rapid and cheap testing of hypotheses. Whether human relative valuation is learned or innate is hotly debated- finding relative valuation in an insect will strongly suggest this be innate. Finally, we will be able to better understand how ant valuation system affects collective behaviours, and thus will be able to investigate the adaptiveness of seemingly irrational decisions. The interdisciplinary nature of this project, bringing together Economics, Psychology, and Behavioural Ecology, will provide new methods and a fertile ground for insights into fundamental mechanisms of decision making in both animals and humans.
DFG Programme
Independent Junior Research Groups
