Daniel Kahneman Professor of Psychology, Princeton University  Hosted by: The American Political Science Association APSA 2002 Annual Meeting  Boston, MA Hynes Convention Center August 30, 2002

Speaker Biography:

Formerly a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, a fellow at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, a professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, a fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences, and a professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Kahneman is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences. He is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society, the Society of Experimental Psychologists, and the Econometric Society. He has been the recipient of numerous awards, among them the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award of the American Psychological Association, the Warren Medal of the Society of Experimental Psychologists, and the Hilgard Award for Career Contributions to General Psychology. Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley.

Presentation Summary:

In his talk on "The Evolving Image of the Boundedly Rational Agent," Dr. Kahneman addressed the Decade of Behavior theme of "democracy."  He discussed the psychological basis of rationality and risk-taking, focusing on individual decision-making and implications for democracy.  Dr. Kahneman drew upon his well-known work with the late Amos Tversky, in which they developed some challenges to the descriptive validity of the rationality assumption and provided psychological analyses of a number of significant facts of judgment and choice. Their pathbreaking work crosses disciplines, influencing political psychology, international relations, and other areas of political science.

Additional Information:

Read a complete article summarizing Kahneman's major research contributions (provided by the American Political Science Association).