Today in 2005, the release of a study that found something interesting: monkeys appeared to have some of the same economic ideas that humans have.
The study came out of Yale University, and it centered on capuchin monkeys, who have a lot of the same reasoning and problem-solving abilities as humans.
The researchers gave the monkeys small disks that served as a form of money; the monkeys could use those disks to “buy” rewards for themselves, mostly food.
In the first part of the study, the monkeys reacted the same way as humans in trying to get the most value out of varying amounts of tokens and fluctuating food prices.
But in the second part of the study, something really interesting happened.
The monkeys once again got disks that they could use for buying treats, with some important extra conditions.
Half of the time, the monkeys might buy a single piece of food but end up with two.
And half of the time, the monkeys who tried to buy two pieces of food would only get one.
The test subjects had a very strong preference here for that first transaction, where they might get something extra, over the second one where they might come up short.
And it turns out this is also very much in line with human economic behavior.
This is officially known as loss aversion.
Generally, we’re wired to avoid losses or perceived losses, even if it means missing out on a possible gain.
The monkeys thought through their options in the experiment and decided they were better off with one guaranteed piece of food and a chance at a second than a situation where they expected two pieces of food and might only get one.
And that’s what makes the study so interesting: in both cases, the monkeys had a 50 percent chance of getting one piece of food and a 50 percent chance of getting two.
But because they perceived one choice as a bonus and one choice as a loss, they preferred the first, the same way that humans do when they’re faced with these kinds of economic decisions.
At least in our minds, we’re all just trying to get the most fruit we can with our limited set of tokens, aren’t we?
Tomorrow in Illinois, it’s the Great Galena Balloon Race.
Organizers actually say there will be three races; two of them are known as the Crack of Dawn Balloon Races because they take place at 5am Saturday and Sunday.
Sounds like it’s worth the extra effort to get out of bed.
Humans Rational and Irrational Buying Behavior Is Mirrored in Monkeys (Yale University)
Great Galena Balloon Race (Enjoy Illinois)
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