Essays on context-dependent preferences and on choice architecture

This dissertation studies context-dependent preferences with a focus on the interactions between motives, context and behavior. Traditionally, economists sought to explain microeconomic behavior by preferences and strategic incentives (e.g. in a game) which also contain the constraints that the decision-maker faces. In this framework, behavioral changes are explained by the reaction of optimizing agents to changes in prices, information or technology. Based on insights from psychology, this dissertation investigates whether different discrete motives are connected with different preferences. In particular, the impact of the context-sensitive motives care, anger and wanting / resource-seeking on behavior in social dilemma situations is studied. Moreover, this dissertation also treats achievement, affiliation, fear and power / status-seeking motives and connects the study of motives with narratives and choice architecture

Vielfalt in der ökonomischen Wissenschaft: Verhaltensökonomische Ansätze in der Diskussion

In der Regel wird in der etablierten wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Lehre angenommen, dass der Mensch ein Homo oeconomicus ist: rational handelnd und auf materielle Gewinne ausgerichtet. Aber wird das Verhalten der Menschen durch dieses Bild richtig abgebildet? Handeln sie rational, oder wird das Verhalten vor allem durch Emotionen und Erfahrungen gesteuert? Georg Weizsäcker, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, unterstreicht, dass den Ökonomen diese Vorstellung eines Idealbildes vollkommen vertraut und auch sehr nützlich ist. Sie beschäftigen sich täglich mit dem sogenannten Homo oeconomicus, der ein solches Idealbild für die Entscheidungen in den ökonomischen Modellen sei. Aber gerade unter den Verhaltensökonomen habe der Homo oeconomicus einen besonders schlechten Ruf. Sie nutzen ihn als Referenzpunkt und fokussieren ihre Forschung darauf, diesen Referenzpunkt als unrealistisch darzustellen. Die Auseinandersetzung mit dem Idealbild sei aber sinnvoll. Erst wenn man umfassend nachweisen könne, dass der Homo oeconomicus ein Phänomen nicht hervorbringen kann, wisse man, dass die ihm zugrunde liegenden Annahmen zu verwerfen seien. Dadurch lerne man viel über die echten menschlichen Entscheidungen. Allerdings betont Georg Weizsäcker auch, dass die Maxime der vernünftigen Handlung gerade in schwierigen Zeiten wichtig sei. Nach Ansicht von Martin G. Kocher, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, ist die Verhaltensökonomik nicht nur der Türöffner zu einer neuen ökonomischen Interdisziplinarität, sondern hat auch mit dazu beigetragen, die Wirtschaftswissenschaft von einer stark theoretisch geprägten Wissenschaft zu einer stark empirisch bestimmten Wissenschaft umzubauen. Felix Gelhaar, Universität zu Kiel, und Simon Bartke, Institut für Weltwirtschaft, Kiel, weisen darauf hin, dass Verhaltensänderungen langfristig nur durch Veränderungen der Präferenzen zu erreichen sind. Es sei daher erforderlich, Einfluss auf die Kultur und gesellschaftlichen Normen, z.B. durch eine langfris

Nudging als politisches Instrument - gute Absicht oder staatlicher Übergriff?

Die Verhaltensökonomie und ihre praktischen Implikationen geraten immer stärker in den Fokus auch der deutschen Politik. Individuelle Entscheidungen sollen im Sinne eines „libertären Paternalismus“ „sanft“ beeinflusst werden. Die „Nudges“ bestehen in Standardvorgaben, Selbstbindungen und der Informationsbereitstellung. Deren Anwendung setzt allerdings die Klärung einiger Fragen voraus: Wer darf sich anmaßen, für die Wirtschaftssubjekte „kluge“ Entscheidungen zu treffen? Bei welchen Entscheidungen sind Eingriffe einer anderen Instanz begründbar? Mit welchem Zeithorizont und aufgrund welcher Wohlfahrtsüberlegungen wird eine Entscheidung als „richtig“ definiert? Welcher Rationalitätsbegriff steht hinter dem Konzept

Two-Proton Correlations near Midrapidity in p+Pb and S+Pb Collisions at the CERN SPS

Correlations of two protons emitted near midrapidity in p+Pb collisions at 450 GeV/c and S+Pb collisions at 200A GeV/c are presented, as measured by the NA44 Experiment. The correlation effect, which arises as a result of final state interactions and Fermi-Dirac statistics, is related to the space-time characteristics of proton emission. The measured source sizes are smaller than the size of the target lead nucleus but larger than the sizes of the projectiles. A dependence on the collision centrality is observed; the source size increases with decreasing impact parameter. Proton source sizes near midrapidity appear to be smaller than those of pions in the same interactions. Quantitative agreement with the results of RQMD (v1.08) simulations is found for p+Pb collisions. For S+Pb collisions the measured correlation effect is somewhat weaker than that predicted by the model simulations, implying either a larger source size or larger contribution of protons from long-lived particle decays.Comment: 10 pages (LaTeX) text, 4 (EPS) figures; accepted for publication in Phys. Lett.

C-reactive protein and glucose regulation in familial longevity

Earlier, we showed that the offspring from exceptionally long-lived families have a more favorable glucose metabolism when compared with controls. As chronic low-grade inflammation has been regarded as a strong risk factor for insulin resistance, we evaluated if and to what extent the favorable glucose metabolism in offspring from long-lived families could be explained by differences in subclinical inflammation, as estimated from circulating levels of C-reactive protein. We found no difference between the two groups in C-reactive protein levels or in the distribution of C-reactive protein haplotypes. However, among controls higher levels of C-reactive protein were related to higher glucose levels, whereas among offspring levels of C-reactive protein were unrelated to glucose levels. It is a limitation of the current study that its cross-sectional nature does not allow for assessment of cause–effect relationships. One possible interpretation of these data is that the offspring from long-lived families might be able to regulate glucose levels more tightly under conditions of low-grade inflammation. To test this hypothesis, our future research will be focused on assessing the robustness of insulin sensitivity in response to various challenges in offspring from long-lived families and controls

DNA methylation reprogramming in cancer:Does it act by re-configuring the binding landscape of Polycomb repressive complexes?

DNA methylation is a repressive epigenetic mark vital for normal development. Recent studies have uncovered an unexpected role for the DNA methylome in ensuring the correct targeting of the Polycomb repressive complexes throughout the genome. Here, we discuss the implications of these findings for cancer, where DNA methylation patterns are widely reprogrammed. We speculate that cancer-associated reprogramming of the DNA methylome leads to an altered Polycomb binding landscape, influencing gene expression by multiple modes. As the Polycomb system is responsible for the regulation of genes with key roles in cell fate decisions and cell cycle regulation, DNA methylation induced Polycomb mis-targeting could directly drive carcinogenesis and disease progression

Motives and comprehension in a public goods game with induced emotions

This study analyses the sensitivity of public goods contributions through the lens of psychological motives. We report the results of a public goods experiment in which subjects were induced with the motives of care and anger through autobiographical recall. Subjects' preferences, beliefs, and perceptions under each motive are compared with those of subjects experiencing a neutral autobiographical recall control condition. We find, but only for those subjects with the highest comprehension of the game, that care elicits significantly higher contributions than anger, with the control treatment in between. This positive influence of the care motive on unconditional giving is accounted for partly by preferences for giving and partly by the beliefs concerning greater contributions by others. Anger also affects attention to own and other's payoffs (using mouse tracking) and perceptions of the game's incentive structure (cooperative or competitive)

Mutations and Deregulation of Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK and PI3K/PTEN/Akt/mTOR Cascades Which Alter Therapy Response

The Ras/Raf/MEK/ERK and PI3K/PTEN/Akt/mTOR cascades are often activated by genetic alterations in upstream signaling molecules such as receptor tyrosine kinases (RTK). Certain components of these pathways, RAS, NF1, BRAF, MEK1, DUSP5, PP2A, PIK3CA, PIK3R1, PIK3R4, PIK3R5, IRS4, AKT, NFKB1, MTOR, PTEN, TSC1, and TSC2 may also be activated/inactivated by mutations or epigenetic silencing. Upstream mutations in one signaling pathway or even in downstream components of the same pathway can alter the sensitivity of the cells to certain small molecule inhibitors. These pathways have profound effects on proliferative, apoptotic and differentiation pathways. Dysregulation of components of these cascades can contribute to: resistance to other pathway inhibitors, chemotherapeutic drug resistance, premature aging as well as other diseases. This review will first describe these pathways and discuss how genetic mutations and epigenetic alterations can result in resistance to various inhibitors

Azimuthal anisotropy of charged jet production in root s(NN)=2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions

We present measurements of the azimuthal dependence of charged jet production in central and semi-central root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions with respect to the second harmonic event plane, quantified as nu(ch)(2) (jet). Jet finding is performed employing the anti-k(T) algorithm with a resolution parameter R = 0.2 using charged tracks from the ALICE tracking system. The contribution of the azimuthal anisotropy of the underlying event is taken into account event-by-event. The remaining (statistical) region-to-region fluctuations are removed on an ensemble basis by unfolding the jet spectra for different event plane orientations independently. Significant non-zero nu(ch)(2) (jet) is observed in semi-central collisions (30-50% centrality) for 20 <p(T)(ch) (jet) <90 GeV/c. The azimuthal dependence of the charged jet production is similar to the dependence observed for jets comprising both charged and neutral fragments, and compatible with measurements of the nu(2) of single charged particles at high p(T). Good agreement between the data and predictions from JEWEL, an event generator simulating parton shower evolution in the presence of a dense QCD medium, is found in semi-central collisions. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Peer reviewe

Forward-central two-particle correlations in p-Pb collisions at root s(NN)=5.02 TeV

Two-particle angular correlations between trigger particles in the forward pseudorapidity range (2.5 2GeV/c. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B. V.Peer reviewe