DO ADDICTS BEHAVE RATIONALLY

The theory of rational addiction assumes that addicts' behavior is ful ly rational. Common sense and psychological introspection suggest, how ever, that addictive behavior is irrational. Without knowledge of the addicts' preferences this dispute cannot be resolved. This paper repor ts the results of an experiment in which addictive preferences were in duced. It turns out that 'addicts' consume systematically too much com pared to the optimal consumption decision. We explain this systematic excess consumption in terms of the psychologically salient features of addictive goods.