The marmot-and-bear parable is an extremely important proposition in the social sciences known as

The marmot-and-bear parable is an extremely important proposition in the social sciences known as

• A. economic darwinism
• B. game theory
• C. Pareto efficiency
• D. behavioral economics

Answer: (D)

Behavioral economics explains how real decision making is shaped by psychology, not just pure logic. The marmot-and-bear parable is used to show that framing, fear, and how people perceive risk influence choices, leading to decisions that diverge from what a purely rational model would predict. This focus on human biases and social factors is the hallmark of behavioral economics. The other options don’t fit as well: economic darwinism isn’t a standard framework for decision behavior, Pareto efficiency is a criterion for evaluating outcomes rather than explaining how people decide, and game theory analyzes strategic interactions under assumptions of rationality rather than the psychological factors highlighted by the parable.

Behavioral economics explains how real decision making is shaped by psychology, not just pure logic. The marmot-and-bear parable is used to show that framing, fear, and how people perceive risk influence choices, leading to decisions that diverge from what a purely rational model would predict. This focus on human biases and social factors is the hallmark of behavioral economics. The other options don’t fit as well: economic darwinism isn’t a standard framework for decision behavior, Pareto efficiency is a criterion for evaluating outcomes rather than explaining how people decide, and game theory analyzes strategic interactions under assumptions of rationality rather than the psychological factors highlighted by the parable.