From dual processes to multiple selves: Implications for economic behavior

This article presents a short review of dual-process and dual-system theories from social and cognitive psychology and comments on their relevance for research on economic behavior. We view dual-process theories as a theoretical scaffolding which helps structure and interpret experimental results and can deliver important insights on human behavior in economic contexts. Dual-process ideas and concepts have already started to percolate into economics, contributing to the behavioral turn and the incorporation of bounded rationality into economic theory. The most recent development in this direction is represented by multiple selves models, which we view as a promising first step. We conclude the article with a brief discussion of the remaining articles in the special issue. 2014 Published by Elsevier B.V. ‘‘The only way in which the economist can keep his studies from duplicating the psychologist’s work is by taking his psychology from those who have specialized in that field. [...] The economist may attempt to ignore psychology, but it is a sheer impossibility for him to ignore human nature, for his science is a science of human behavior.’’ ‘‘Economics and Modern Psychology, Part 1’’, J. M. Clark, Journal of Political Economy 1918.