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The Savanna Principle

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  • Satoshi Kanazawa

    (Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand)

Abstract

Why do microeconomic theories (such as decision theory and game theory) often fail to predict human behavior despite their mathematical elegance and deductive rigor? I suggest that such empirical failures stem from the theory's misconception of how the human brain functions. Drawing on evolutionary psychology, I propose the Savanna Principle, which posits that a hypothesis about human behavior fails to the extent that its scope conditions and assumptions are inconsistent with the ancestral environment, and its experimental corollary, that the Savanna Principle holds (and the hypothesis fails) to the extent that the conditions of the experiment resemble the ancestral environment. I suggest that the Savanna Principle and its corollary might together explain the relative empirical failure of noncooperative game theory and public choice theory, and the relative success of network exchange theory and competitive price theory tested in double auction markets in experimental economics. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Suggested Citation

  • Satoshi Kanazawa, 2004. "The Savanna Principle," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 25(1), pages 41-54.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:mgtdec:v:25:y:2004:i:1:p:41-54
    DOI: 10.1002/mde.1130
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    1. Kanazawa, Satoshi, 2005. "Is "discrimination" necessary to explain the sex gap in earnings?," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 26(2), pages 269-287, April.
    2. Nik Ahmad Sufian Burhan & Mohamad Fazli Sabri & Heiner Rindermann, 2023. "Cognitive ability and economic growth: how much happiness is optimal?," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 70(1), pages 63-100, March.
    3. Veniamin Mokhov & Sergei Aliukov & Anatoliy Alabugin & Konstantin Osintsev, 2023. "A Review of Mathematical Models of Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, and Government Regulation of the Economy," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-37, July.
    4. Saad, Gad, 2020. "The marketing of evolutionary psychology," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 485-491.
    5. Read, Daniel, 2004. "Utility theory from Jeremy Bentham to Daniel Kahneman," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 22750, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    6. Christoph H. Loch & D. Charles Galunic & Susan Schneider, 2006. "Balancing cooperation and competition in human groups: the role of emotional algorithms and evolution," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(2-3), pages 217-233.
    7. Kanazawa, Satoshi & Savage, Joanne, 2009. "An evolutionary psychological perspective on social capital," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 30(6), pages 873-883, December.
    8. Gad Saad, 2006. "Applying evolutionary psychology in understanding the Darwinian roots of consumption phenomena," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(2-3), pages 189-201.

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