Daniel Kahneman, the Nobel Prize-winning psychologist who pioneered the theory of behavioral economics and had a major influence on behavioral economics, has died at the age of 90.
Kahneman, author of the best-selling book Thinking, Fast and Slow, pushed back against the idea that people’s behavior is rooted in rational decision-making processes and is often based on instinct instead.
Kahneman’s employer, Princeton University, where the Israeli-American scholar worked until his death, confirmed Kahneman’s death in a statement on its website Wednesday.
“Many fields of social science have not changed at all since he arrived on the scene,” former colleague Professor Eldar Shafir said in a press release. “He will be sorely missed.”
In 2002, Kahneman was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for his work in the fields of psychology and economics.
Kahneman’s most popular theory, described by Steven Pinker as “the world’s most influential living psychologist,” goes against the traditional economic approach that people are completely rational and self-interested. did.
Instead, the theory argued that people have mental biases that can distort their judgment.
“I had limited ambitions and didn’t want to be hugely successful,” Kahneman told the Guardian in 2015.
“I’ve had a lot of fun and I’ve had a great life.”
with Agence France-Presse
