Belief-Dependent Motivations and Psychological Game Theory

Abstract

The mathematical framework of psychological game theory is useful for describing many forms of motivation where preferences depend directly on one’s own or others’ beliefs. It allows for incorporating, for example, emotions, reciprocity, image concerns, and self-esteem in economic analysis. We explain how and why, discussing basic theory, experiments, applied work, and methodology. (JEL C70, D83, D91)