Becker's thesis and three models of preference change

Bradley, Richard ORCID: 0000-0003-2184-7844 (2008) Becker's thesis and three models of preference change. LSE Choice Group working paper series (vol. 4, no. 1). The Centre for Philosophy of Natural and Social Science (CPNSS), London School of Economics, London, UK.

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Abstract

This paper examines Becker's thesis that the hypothesis that choices maximise expected utility relative to fixed and universal tastes provides a general framework for the explanation of behaviour. Three different models of preference revision are presented and their scope evaluated. The first, the classical conditioning model, explain all changes in preferences in terms of changes in the information held by the agent, holding fundamental beliefs and desires fixed. The second, the Jeffrey conditioning model, explains them in terms of changes in both the information held by the agent and changes in her prior beliefs, holding her fundamental desires fixed. The final model, that of generalised conditioning, allows for explanations in terms of changes in the values of all three variables.

Item Type:	Monograph (Working Paper)
Official URL:	http://www2.lse.ac.uk/CPNSS/Home.aspx
Additional Information:	© 2008 The author
Divisions:	CPNSS Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory
Date Deposited:	08 Feb 2010 11:43
Last Modified:	13 Sep 2024 20:08
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/27007

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