The Assumption of Rational Behavior

question 73

Multiple Choice

The assumption of rational behavior:

• A) offers a perfect framework for how people actually behave.
• B) helps economists explain about how people behave in a way that will best achieve their goals.
• C) explains why people voluntarily engage in decisions for which costs exceed benefits.
• D) is best applied to psychology and should not be used in the science of economics.

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Definitions:

Social Psychologist

A scientist who studies how people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others.

Cognitive Psychologist

A professional who studies the mental processes underlying knowledge and behavior, including perception, thinking, memory, and decision-making.

Psychoanalyst

A therapist who utilizes psychoanalysis, a method of therapy rooted in Freudian theory, to explore and heal unconscious conflicts driving psychological disorders.

Junior Year Abroad

An academic program in which students spend their junior year of college or university studying in a foreign country.