PSYCHOLOGY, EXPERIMENTAL ECONOMICS AND TH E QUESTION OF WHAT GOOD EXPERIMENTATION IS

Research in psychology and economics rarely interacts. A notable excep tion is Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman's research on decision making . The gist of their program is that humans systematically violate norm s that have been equated with rationality. These so-called cognitive i llusions cast doubt on the rationality assumption of economic models o f human behavior. Economists have questioned the validity of these res ults by criticizing the experimental methods used in psychology. Unlik e many psychologists, experimental economists seriously attempt to mot ivate their participants, provide them with the opportunity to learn, and avoid deceiving them. There are good reasons why psychologists oug ht to consider those methodological preferences.