Abstract
We have developed a method for learning relative preferences from histories of choices made, without requiring an intermediate utility computation. Our method infers preferences that are rational in a psychological sense, where agent choices result from Bayesian inference of what to do from observable inputs. We further characterize conditions on choice histories wherein it is appropriate for modelers to describe relative preferences using ordinal utilities, and illustrate the importance of the influence of choice history by explaining all major categories of context effects using them. Our proposal clarifies the relationship between economic and psychological definitions of rationality and rationalizes several behaviors heretofore judged irrational by behavioral economists.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | e0141129 |
Journal | PloS one |
Volume | 10 |
Issue number | 10 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Oct 23 2015 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2015 Srivastava, Schrater. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.