![]() He has devoted most of his professional life to researching why its so tough to get people to make important financial decisions and the impact such indecision has on society and public policy. By most measures, Kapteyn, CESRs director, is an expert in making informed choices. Ive not planned my life out yet, says economist Arie Kapteyn, 72, with a laugh. If youve procrastinated on life-changing plans and choices like how much money to save or whether to undergo a major medical procedure youre not alone. Turns out, humans are poor at weighing options and making big decisions. To do that, the researchers tap the latest technology to make sense of large volumes of data. The economists, psychologists, behavioral scientists and demographers at CESR figure out how people make the decisions they make and how they can make better, more-informed ones. Thats because the 70 or so researchers at the center in Dauterive Hall specialize in the science of making decisions. Generations have thought of questions to ask and then shaken the spheres for answers, getting such responses as It is certain, Outlook not so good or ∼oncentrate and ask again.īut at the center dubbed CESR (pronounced like the Roman politician and general), the Magic 8-Ball feels more tongue-in-cheek than nostalgic. Anywhere else, it might elicit childhood memories. The iconic ∥0s toy sits on an office desk at USCs Center for Economic and Social Research. ![]() Read Tirado’s essay in full: “ This Is Why Poor People’s Bad Decisions Make Perfect Sense.”Īd campaign (lip) glosses over ‘Hunger Games’ messageĭon’t like transphobic ‘jokes’? Stop watching these CBS comedies.Its an unexpected home for a Magic 8-Ball. Sleep deprivation, according to neuroscientist Penelope Lewis, weakens memory and the ability to synthesize information.īut what can Tirado do? “Rest,” she writes, “is a luxury for the rich.” That too impacts how the brain functions. Tirado, in her essay, also talks about sleep - notably, how little she gets. ![]() As if just being poor wasn’t difficult enough.” “Your brain has to work mighty hard if you’re constantly trying to figure out how to keep your head above water, and that is likely to contribute to poor decision-making and counterproductive behavior. What Mani found is that poor people, in general, have a greater cognitive load than rich people. Extensive research shows that ‘frontal function’ is impaired in people who increase their cognitive load with things such as distracting tasks, stress, sleep deprivation, pain or even resisting temptation (for example, if you make someone’s frontal cortex work hard in order for them to resist eating chocolate, they are less capable immediately afterward of performing frontal cognitive tasks). “Naturally, the frontal cortex has a finite capacity. It is the only thing I have found that keeps me from collapsing or exploding.” “It is not a good decision,” she writes, “but it is the only one that I have access to. She also calls smoking “the best option.” Between two jobs, a full college course load and kids, she says smoking’s both a stimulant that’ll keep her going and a relaxant. And we are not allowed many conveniences.” She also says: “Convenience food is just that. Junk food is a pleasure that we are allowed to have why would we give that up? We have very few of them,” Tirado writes. Why make the extra work for yourself, much less risk messing up a meal that could get your family sick, when there’s a simpler and inexpensive option? “It makes more sense to get food that you know will be palatable and cheap and that keeps well. On not cooking, for example, she describes broccoli as intimidating. In an essay written to show the human side of poverty, Linda Tirado explains some of the rationale behind the self-defeating decisions she makes as a poor person. ![]() You’ll forgive a poor person’s series of impulsive and bad decisions - eating junk food, smoking, having children with multiple partners.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |