Action plan - The economy

Compared with some branches of psychology, the concerns of the economic psychologist may seem mundane and a little lacking in mystique or theoretical depth. We are not ashamed of that; in fact we are proud of it. We believe that Everyday Things Matter: the simple economic actions people are engaged in from day to day have profound influences on, and are influenced by, their psychological states and processes. It was pioneering work in the USA that first made governments aware that the study of psychological variables might have useful implications for macro-economic policy (Katona, 1975). Now much can be said about individual economic behaviour and cognition (see Webley et al., 2001). In this article we look at practical recommendations springing from research in several areas of economic behaviour.

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