DECIDE

The DECIDE research group conducts interdisciplinary research exploring the complexities of human decision-making, including both individual decisions and those made within social, interpersonal contexts. By integrating insights, tools, and methods from economics, psychology, and neuroscience, we aim to understand the cognitive, emotional, and computational factors that influence choices. A core objective is to identify the origins and causes of errors and inconsistencies in human decision-making, which include cognitive limitations of the human brain, as well as systematic biases and heuristics that can lead to suboptimal decisions. Key research questions include: (i) What are the most common and consequential decision biases, and how can we design interventions to reduce their impact? (ii) How do cognitive constraints, such as limited attention and working memory capacity, impact economic choices? (iii) How can we improve the estimation of economic preferences given that decisions and hence choice data are affected by errors? (iv) How do social interactions and the social context affect individual decision-making and social outcomes? (v) How can we improve preference aggregation methods and voting procedures to obtain better outcomes representing the will of a society? By gaining a better understanding of human decision-making and decision errors, our research aims to develop new theories and models of human decision-making, provide evidence-based insights to policymakers to design effective policies and regulations, assist businesses in understanding consumer and employee behavior, and, ultimately, contribute to a better future where individuals, groups, firms, and societies make more informed, rational, and socially-beneficial choices.