User:TCCorcoran/Sandbox

Research Paper Topic #1 - Selfishness Notes from "Predictably Irrational" by Dan Ariely pg 195-pg robberies 2004 cost 525 million corporate theft cost 600 billion every year *higher than robberies, burglary, larceny, auto theft combined 24 million added to property losses each year IRS gap 350 billion/year two types of dishonesty? do "honest" people cheat given the opportunity? EXPERIMENT: one group takes mult choice test, then transfers answers to bubble sheet (15c for each right answer) second group sees correct answers when they fill in the bubble sheet third group destroyed bubble sheet and reported earnings fourth group destroyed bubble sheet and then walked up to front of room and collected earnings from a jar RESULTS: group one - avg 32.6 questions right group two - avg 36.2 questions right group three - avg 35.9 questions right group four - avg 36.1 questions right interesting that all "cheat" opportunities were higher than average, but none was extremely higher than the other majority of ppl cheated, but only a little bit even when have little/no chance of getting caught, we are still only slightly dishonest ADAM SMITH: (great quote!!) "Nature, when she formed man for society, endowed him with an original desire to please, and an original aversion to offend his bretheren. She taught him to feel pleasure in their favourable, and pain in their unfavourable regard" ppl are honest if it serves them well survey of high school students (US) 98% of 36 thousand students said imp to be honest SOLUTIONS:? moral reminders - Bible/honor codes degradation of professions - used to be elitist, now are more geared toward commoners - does the possibility of wealth creation encourage fraud in these areas? not enough punishment for unethical actions? prevent "bending" of reality to accommodate selfishness Notes From Chapter 12: pg 217 EXPERIMENT: leave a 6-pack of Coke in a mini-fridge at MIT and see how long it takes to disappear (72 hrs) leave a plate with six one dollar bills at MIT fridge, same thing (untouched at 72 hrs) COMMENTS: most dishonesty is removed from cash    *arguably this makes it easier EXPERIMENT: control group solves math probs and reports number correct for money second group solves probs, shreds paper and then reports correct number for money last group solves probs for tokens and then exchanges the tokens for money RESULTS: control(no cheating) 3.5 right second group - 6.2 right last group - 9.4 right *many cheated as much as was possible - perfect scores EXAMPLES: Reporting lost/damaged items to insurance comp - size and/or value tends to increase Wardrobing - buy clothing, wear, then return, but store can't use it anymore *lose abt 16 bill year due to this COMMENTS: nonmonetary exchanges are easier to rationalize/make us more likely to be dishonest electronic transactions? should we be weary of these? what happens when: *ppl don't care about being honest? * behavior isn't public? *nonmonetary things that take longer/more steps to be converted to money? BENEFITS OF DISHONESTY: Upton Sinclair "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it" DISHONESTY ON PART OF BUSINESSES: credit card rates WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT MONEY? clear unit of exchange symbolism of US govt, history, etc need to find a solution soon! cash rapidly becoming extinct Notes from "Exotic Preferences" by Loewenstein Theory of Moral Sentiments - Adam Smith (check this out!! may be helpful!) *may also be worth checking out classical view on selfishness in Wealth of Nations *behavior is determined by "passions" vs "impartial spectator" why do humans have a concern for fairness? if we are all selfish creatures, what use is there in protecting others? fairness is reinforced by fear of negative appraisal (so it still is selfish) markets often built on fairness, altruism, trust rather than just self-interest Notes from: Sigmund, Karl. Calculus Of Selfishness, The. Princeton University Press, 2009. 1 October 2011  Pascal: "We are born unfair; for everyone inclines towards himself. . . . The tendency towards oneself is the origin of every disorder in war, polity, economy etc.” Selfishness was depicted as the root of all evil. Adam Smith: by pursuing one's own self interest, society as a whole benefits  *invisible hand benefits society when we are selfish   *what about prisoner's dilemma? both cooperate = reward, both selfish= punishment   *if both ppl get different answers, one gets a temptation (greater than reward)   *trap!   *modern day example? cold war how does concern for reputation affect your tendency to be selfish?    *indirect reprocity - the more players know abt each other, the more likely they are to help each other Why do people engage in costly punishment? The first explanation is obvious. By punishing defectors, one can hope to reform them. Notes from: Selfishness, cooperation, the evolutionary point of view and its implications for economics Dariusz Pieńkowski, Mälardalen University, Sweden Received 27 March 2007; revised 27 September 2007; Accepted 1 October 2007. Available online 7 November 2007. Adam Smith: The natural effort of every individual to better his own condition… is so powerful, that it is alone, and without any assistance, not only capable of carrying on the society to wealth and prosperity, but of surmounting a hundred impertinent obstructions with which the folly of human laws too often encumbers its operations (Smith, 1776, book 4, chapter V, section IV), What about 'rational' not necessarily as just selfish, what about rational as promoting public goals? “How selfish soever man may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortune of others, and render their happiness necessary to him, though he derives nothing from it, except the pleasure of seeing it” (Smith, 1759, part I chapter 1) pro-social behavior: benefits others selfish behavior: self-benefit but can be applied to another person as well altruistic behavior: help others without worrying about oneself classical economics looks more at competitive models, when in fact cooperation is quite possible theory - humans are not naturally selfish - economic situations increase their tendency to commit selfish actions SELFISHNESS IN THE MARKET: why is economic rationality associated with selfishness? argue that human beings must be selfish because market is based on these rules selfish because they think others are going to be selfish how does one's behavior differ in the market place vs in a domestic environment? rational economic decisions in the market vs rational social interactions - - -how do these two play into eachother? Japanese capitalism - teamwork, cooperation, very group oriented http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy2.library.arizona.edu/science/article/pii/S0921800907005034

SMITH, FRIEDMAN, AND SELF-INTEREST IN ETHICAL SOCIETY Harvey S. James, Jr. and Farhad Rassekh http://ehis.ebscohost.com.ezproxy2.library.arizona.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=61430ecc-94b9-44fd-8fdb-df0abaf8f4e6%4 Business Ethics Quarterly, Jul., 2000, vol. 10, no. 3, p. 659-674

Introduction:
 * self-interest is not the same thing as selfishness

Adam Smith on Self-Interest: Quote:: that to feel much for others and little for ourselves, that to restrain our selfish, and to indulge our benevolent affections, constitutes the perfection of human nature;
 * humans are capable of self-interest, but they are also capable to recognizing when this interest harms others and will then change their actions
 * "self command" is the term used to describe this restraining
 * approval comes from "impartial spectator"
 * actions that directly harm others are NOT endorsed by Smith
 * so why does self-interest play out in the market? because markets are mechanical, more anonymous than human relationships
 * selfishness often results in one harming another
 * businesses should not deceive consumers or harm them in any way
 * competition is fueled by self-interest. competition leads to lower prices and/or higher quality as well as new products
 * societal benefit is synonymous with consumer benefit

Irrational Economist, The: Making Decisions In A Dangerous World Written By: Erwann Published By: Perseus Book LLC Published In: 2010 MIL EAN/ISBN: 9786612461712 Pub e-EAN/ISBN: 9780786746262 Hardcover EAN/ISBN: Paper EAN/ISBN: 9781586487805 LC Class: HB3730 - Business cycles. Economic fluctuations

Introduction:: *completely informed *preferences do not change over time *respond to economic fluctuations *preferences not influenced by others
 * homo economus
 * feelings, incentives, env play into decision making

BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN SCIENCES (2005) 28, 795–855 Printed in the United States of America © 2005 Cambridge University Press 0140-525X/05 $12.50 795 “Economic man” in cross-cultural perspective: Behavioral experiments in 15 small-scale societies Joseph Henrich Department of Anthropology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322.


 * selfishness axiom: individuals seek to maximize perosonal gains and expect others to do the same
 * research performed in 12 countries (4 continents)

Ultimatum Game and Dictator Game Findings:
 * offers below 20 percent rejected
 * most offers 50%

Public Goods Game: *if this game is repeated (with same players), contribution tends towards zero
 * selfish individual should free ride and either contribute as little as possible or withdraw as much as possible
 * little variation among gender
 * younger children tend to display more selfishness than older adults

Findings: *perhaps they 'are' selfish but do not believe others are (fear of being rejected) Things that may influence tendency towards selfishness: Social complexity (SC) .242 .778 .913 .374   .670 Payoffs to cooperation (PC) — −.063 .039 −.320  .165 Anonymity (AN) — .934 .743 .664 Market integration (MI)  — .644  .731 Privacy (PR)   — .328 Settlement size (SS
 * wide range of rejection rates, even for extremely low offers
 * wider range of modal offering
 * proposers are violating selfishness axiom by offering more than minimal amounts


 * much of behavior is determined by culture (not hardwired into us)
 * more likely to cooperate when you think others will cooperate

Milton Friedman and Social Responsibility: **voluntary exchanges btwn individuals vs centrally-planned exchanges interests the participants, whatever they value, whatever goals they pursue"    *avoid 'external' effects unless those that are affected approve of these actions
 * increasing individual freedom is encouraged
 * voluntary exchanges only happen if both individuals benefit
 * "Seif-interest is not myopic selfishness. It is whatever it is that
 * is absolute freedom possible? no - of course not. different people have different wants, so when these conflict they must negotiate their behaviors
 * ppl have the ethical responsibility to analyze their actions
 * firstly, humans should limit their own behavior. secondly, governments should intervene
 * businesses should conduct themselves so as to positively affect society and society must consent to being affected
 * businesses should pursue profit (and only profit) but should NOT engage in fraud/deception

Raphael Sassower. Review Essay: Is Homo Economics Extinct?. Philosophy of the Social Sciences, Volume 40, Number 4 (December 2010), pp. 603-615, 


 * are we intrinsically selfish or altruistic
 * how do repeated encounters with people (or even the belief in them) affect behavior?

Notes from: American Mania - When More is Not Enough Introduction
 * material wealth and choice in US is unique in human history - never before have we had so much
 * to want (more) is a basic instinct
 * what about free time? entertainment? stress levels?
 * wiring in our brain causes us to be curious, seek rewards, and avoid loss/injury
 * self-interest constantly at odds with the fact that we are intensely social animals
 * self-interest said to play into societal good (think Adam Smith)
 * Smith worried abt envy and compulsiveness
 * how do we limit our craving when we live in a society as rich as the US?

Chapter One: Adam Smith's American Dream *importance of self-image (ranking, distinction) - we do things to be noticed by others *Adam Smith liked his ideas on self-interest - Hutcheson believed this is balanced by need to be accepted and loved *focus is now on material wealth - how much money/stuff do you have?
 * "78% of Americans still believe that anybody in America can become rich and live the good life"
 * shopping is NOT a rational experience - humans are manipulated by advertising companies
 * "behavior of multitudes" - sum of all ind desires, this is what drives the market - self-preservation
 * "self-love" leads to social order
 * along with self love there should be curiosity - exploration, invention, new ideas
 * ambition - what makes us try and be better than how we already are and/or better than those around us
 * Francis Hutcheson - Glasgow College moral phil professor
 * Smith's impartial spectator is both ambitious and conscious of social relations
 * in today's world (globalized and technological) "social good" has little practical value - no economic incentive
 * selfish behavior is reward driven while self-restraint is learned behavior - cultural
 * cultural shift away from society and towards self - really noticeable towards beginning of 1990s

Chapter Three: (page 80 onwards)
 * work of Professor Robert Cloninger - psych at Wash School of Medicine is St Louis, Missouri - evaluating human temperament
 * dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin systems
 * harm - avoidance (shyness), novelty seeking, reward dependence, persistence
 * above describe how we interact with people/social challenges
 * when dopamine levels are stimulated by an experience, we continue to seek out this experience

The Time Trade:
 * crunch for time encourages solitary, competitive work rather than cooperative work

NOTES FROM: The Soul of Modern Economic Man: Ideas of Self Interest - Thomas Hobbes to Adam Smith Chapter Two:The Soul of Modern Economic Man *The Spectator - Joseph Addison and Richard Steele -collection of essays *merchants - goods brought to country by trade, give work to poor, creates wealth *self-love as a motivation is the "great Mover of created beings" *unchecked self-love, however, is destructive - set out to become the best of the best - end in poverty for all *public good versus private gain *extremely anti-monopolist - - - self-interest can be useful as long as all companies are allowed to compete *"all wealth, in a state of civilized society, is the produce of human industry" *negative views of businessmen, who are seen as exploiters of workers
 * soul = self-interest
 * 18th century - clear respect for work and its benefits for society
 * Josiah Tucker - 'Elements of Commerce and Theory of Taxes'
 * Godwin - 'Political Justice (1798)

Chapter Three: Thomas Hobbes - Self Interest and the Public Destruction *material - economic effects, mental - psychology, human character/motivation
 * self-interest is identified as the "most destructive of human motives"
 * material vs mental implications of self-interest
 * Hobbes point of view: all actions of men are motivated by his selfishness