The Dawning of a Neuro(economic) Era? Some Methodological Considerations

Abstract

Neuroeconomics is a very recent development in the evolution of economics. Concisely, it refers to the conception that observed behavioural regularities are caused by the workings of the brain (Davis, 2006). It combines neuroscience with “new ” behavioural economics. For its proponents it offers potentially ground-breaking insights into the apparent paradoxes of human behaviour. This paper considers the veracity of these claims within a broader analysis of the interpretation of data, and upon the instinct psychology that influenced Thorstein Veblen. Arguably, neuroeconomists consider that the field makes three critical interventions: First, the application of neuroscientific methods – such as brain imaging techniques, the recording of single neuron activity, animal behaviour, and the behaviour of brain damaged individuals – to a host of economic behaviours, such as: preference formation; strategic behaviour; trust; altruism; utility and money, and learning, etc. challenges orthodox tenets. For instance, Camerer, et al (2005) report that neural imaging indicates that the part of the brain which reacts to sources of pleasure responds in the same way for money as it does for “other cultural objects”. This finding challenges the neoclassical notion that money is only an indirect source of utility. Second, neuroeconomics represents a potentially highly lucrative conduit of conceptual

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