a mathematical foundation: sophie dundovic
TRANSCRIPT
A Mathematical Foundation
Sophie Dundovic
Part IBehavioural Economics
Economics + Psychology “Irrational” Behaviour
Quick ExperimentWould you rather have £100 now or £105
tomorrow?
Would you rather have £100 in one year or £105 in one year and one day?
Same question, waiting one day = £5
Many people have inconsistent answers
Discounting
Risk Preferences affect Behaviour
Novelty seekers are more likely to exercise an anti – endowment effect than their risk averse counterparts
Impact in career choices, relationships and addictive/ impulsive behaviours.
Novelty Seeking Behaviour
Risk Averse
Novelty
Seeking
Status Quo, security
Newness, uncertainty, risk
Endowment EffectWillingness to pay is not equal to willingness to
acceptThis is ‘irrational’
WHY? Loss aversionStatus Quo bias
Investigating the linkMeasuring personality spectrum
Repeating and adapting classic endowment effect experiments
Newness and Uncertainty
Treatment GroupsNewness
Uncertainty
Results and limitationsPeople scoring higher on the novelty seeking
scale were more likely to ‘switch’Most people will stay put
Experimental setting in the labNeed to test with greater sample size
Part II Technology Start - Ups
New sectorMany problems that are solved through
computer scienceRanges from consumer facing (eg snapchat) to
making business processes more efficient (eg automating tasks/ getting more accurate measurements using computers)
Mental Health TechPlatform connecting Psychologists and Patients
outside of treatment sessions
ProblemMental health a 24/7 problemTreatment is hard to come by/ expensiveOnce a weekPaper based tasks
SolutionPsychologists can set ready tailor made
treatment program with a few clicks
Patients get messages to their phone at appropriate times
Both can track progress
SummaryMany exciting options with a mathematical
foundationQuantitative skills and problem solving are
important
www.mathigon.org