Integrating Personality Psychology Into Economics
This paper reviews the problems and potential benefits of integrating personality psychology into economics. Economists have much to learn from and contribute to personality psychology. What can economists learn from and contribute to personality psychology? What do we learn from personality psychology? Personality traits predict many behaviors - sometimes with the same or greater strength as conventional cognitive traits. Personality psychology considers a wider array of actions than are usually considered by economists and enlarges the economist's way to describe and model the world. Personality traits are not set in stone. They change over the life cycle. They are a possible avenue for policy intervention.