Patric Andersson
PhD in Economic Psychology
I, Patric Andersson, have a PhD in Economic Psychology from the Stockholm School of Economics, where I have also been certified as qualified for Docent in Business Administration.
In addition to studies at the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University and the Department of Social Psychology at the London School of Economics, I also hold a BSc in Business Administration and Economics from Stockholm University.
I have worked as a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Mannheim and as an Associate Professor at the Stockholm School of Economics. Currently, I am an affiliated researcher at the Stockholm School of Economics Institute for Research.
About me
I have over 30 years of experience conducting research in economic psychology. This research field is commonly referred to as the science of economic mental life and behavior (see for further details below). Over the years, I have carried out many empirical studies, both independently and in collaboration with Swedish and international research colleagues. The studies have been reported as journal articles and book chapters (for an overview, see the page ”Publikationer”).
My research has primarily been based on statistical analyses of data collected by surveys and has addressed questions such as:
- How accurately do experts predict future outcomes?
- How well do financial experts actually perform?
- How do emotions influence judgment and decision-making?
- To what extent do cognitive biases affect decisions under risk and uncertainty?
- How does the presentation of risk information influence choices?
- What does the public think about nudging, taxes, subsidies, and mandates?
- How does the public perceive judgments made by algorithms compared with those made by experts?
Moreover, I have extensive teaching experience. At the university level, I have taught, developed, and been responsible for courses across a range of topics, including financial psychology, marketing, research methodology, decision-making, and human vs. AI decision-making. I have also supervised approximately 200 students and doctoral candidates, all of whom completed well-written theses or doctoral dissertations. Collectively, these experiences have given me strong skills in supporting and leading individuals in their learning processes.
What I offer?
I am happy to share insights drawn from extensive experience in research on economic-psychological phenomena, as well as from university teaching, and the supervision of BSc-, MSc- and PhD-students. I provide scientifically grounded insights that can be directly translated into practical business value.
I offer tailored lectures and seminars in topics such as decision-making under risk and uncertainty, the predictive accuracy of human judgments and AI, and the psychology of stock-market and financial decision-making. I also provide advisory services related to survey design, marketing research, and statistical analyses, where scientific rigor is combined with practical relevance. In addition, I undertake analytical and investigative assignments focused on business issues.
For pricing and further information, please contact me by email.
What is economic psychology?
What is economic psychology?
Economic psychology is the science of economic mental life and behavior. It studies how people think and behave in economic contexts, such as decisions about consumption, saving, and investment. Drawing on theories and methods from the psychological sciences, the field of economic psychology seeks to explain and predict economic behavior and its underlying mechanisms, including cognition, motivation, emotions, attitudes, and expectations.
Its roots can be traced back to the 18th century and, in particular, to the book The Theory of Moral Sentiments by the Scottish economist and philosopher Adam Smith. In this book from 1758, Smith discussed why phenomena like reciprocity, cooperation, and an understanding of people’s motives are important for business life and society. However, Smith did not explicitly use the term economic psychology. Some 150 years later, this term was coined by the French social psychologist Gabriel Tarde, who in the publication La psychologie économique (1902) theorized about the psychological foundations of the economy.
Two influential pioneers in the development of modern economic psychology are George Katona and Herbert Simon. In 1940s and 1950s, Katona demonstrated that consumer expectations about the future play an important role in predicting the economic outlook of a country. His findings have since been incorporated into modern macroeconomic forecasting. Simon made fundamental contributions not only to economic psychology and economics, but also to several other disciplines, including artificial intelligence, computer science, cognitive psychology, and political science. One of his many scholarly contributions is the concept of bounded rationality. This concept implies that decisions are based on simplified decision processes, as individuals have limited cognitive capacities, decision tasks often involve incomplete and ambiguous information, and allocating unlimited resources to decision-making is not feasible. Moreover, some decision situations also require immediate responses. In 1978, Simon was awarded with the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.
It is often the case that economic psychology is mixed up with behavioral economics. This is not surprising, as the two fields share common roots and both study economic behavior empirically. There are, nonetheless, important differences. Economic psychology is theoretically broad and draws on a wide range of psychological theories. Behavioral economics, by contrast, is largely based on a specific framework focused on heuristics and biases, drawing heavily on the scholar work of Amos Tversky, Daniel Kahneman, and Richard Thaler. The latter two were awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2002 and 2017, respectively. This framework postulates that people are systematically influenced by cognitive fallacies, leading them to rely on mental shortcuts when making judgements and decisions. As a consequence, their inferences and behavior often deviate from what is considered rational by classical economic theory. While this framework has gained widespread attention outside the academic world, it has also attracted scientific criticisms.
Furthermore, the two disciplines differ somewhat in regard to methodology. Economic psychology employs both quantitative and qualitative methods, including surveys, experiments, interviews, and case studies. Behavioral economics primarily relies on transaction data and official statistics, as well as on experiments in laboratory or natural settings. Lab experiments are usually conducted with appropriate incentives for the participants and without the use of deception (for example, regarding the purpose of the study or the feedback provided). Deception is assumed to undermine trust in research, thereby making it difficult to recruit participants for future experiments.