How Basic Are Behavioral Biases? Evidence from Capuchin Monkey Trading Behavior

S-Tier
Journal: Journal of Political Economy
Year: 2006
Volume: 114
Issue: 3
Pages: 517-537

Authors (3)

M. Keith Chen (Yale University) Venkat Lakshminarayanan (not in RePEc) Laurie R. Santos (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

2.691 = (α=2.02 / 3 authors) × 4.0x S-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Behavioral economics has demonstrated systematic decision-making biases in both lab and field data. Do these biases extend across contexts, cultures, or even species? We investigate this question by introducing fiat currency and trade to a colony of capuchin monkeys and recovering their preferences over a range of goods and gambles. We show that capuchins react rationally to both price and wealth shocks but display several hallmark biases when faced with gambles, including reference dependence and loss aversion. Given our capuchins' inexperience with money and trade, these results suggest that loss aversion extends beyond humans and may be innate rather than learned.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:ucp:jpolec:v:114:y:2006:i:3:p:517-537
Journal Field
General
Author Count
3
Added to Database
2026-01-25