Working Paper
Belief-Dependent Motivations and Psychological Game Theory
Pierpaolo Battigalli, Martin Dufwenberg
CESifo, Munich, 2020
CESifo Working Paper No. 8285
CESifo, Munich, 2020
CESifo Working Paper No. 8285
The mathematical framework of psychological game theory is useful for describing many forms of motivation where preferences depend directly on own or others’ beliefs. It allows for incorporating, e.g., emotions, reciprocity, image concerns, and self-esteem in economic analysis. We explain how and why, discussing basic theory, experiments, applied work, and methodology.
CESifo Category
Behavioural Economics
Behavioural Economics
Keywords: psychological game theory, belief-dependent motivation, reciprocity, emotions, image concerns, self-esteem
JEL Classification: C720, D910