No abstract

Dependent variables such as preference, hedonic tone, aesthetic appreciation, stimulus generalization, degree of interest or attention, exploratory behavior, developmental stages, and intensity of attitudes are frequently observed to be single-peaked functions of the independent variables. We address the problem of deriving, from more elementary underlying processes, a preference function that rises monotonically to a peak and then falls monotonically. We propose psychological principles for the perception and processing of good and bad attributes such as pleasure and pain and an elimination principle that affects the options that are available. We show that single-peakedness is inevitable if there is only one component, is quite likely if there are two, and must be contrived if there are three or more components. The results are generalized for approach-avoidance, approach-approach, and avoidance-avoidance conflict in individuals and bear upon the resolution of social choice problems of a particular class.

No abstract

Perhaps the first model for decision making under risk was the theory that an individual maximizes expected value. This theory is dramatically violated by the St. Petersburg paradox (Chernoff & Moses, 1959) which led Bernoulli (1954) to the notion that utility for money is a nonlinear function of money and a theory that individuals maximize expected utility. This theory "explains" too much since such a wide variety of behavior can be accommodated by it that it is difficult to design crucial experiments. If one adds to it a concept of subjective probability and proposes a theory