KAHNEMAN, DANIEL

KAHNEMAN, DANIEL (1934– ), Israeli-American scientist, psychology professor, and researcher; joint winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize in economic sciences. Kahneman was born in Tel Aviv (while his mother was visiting Palestine; his Lithuanian-born parents usually resided in Paris). He held dual Israeli and United States citizenship. Kahneman studied at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, receiving a B.A. in psychology and mathematics, and earned a Ph.D. in psychology at the University of California. Kahneman began his academic career lecturing psychology at the Hebrew University in 1961. He held a variety of positions, from visiting scientist to professor of psychology at several institutions throughout the United States, Canada, and England. From 1993 Kahneman was the Eugene Higgins Professor of Psychology and professor of public affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.

While Daniel Kahneman is not an economist, his work earned him half of the 2002 Nobel Prize in economic sciences, "for having integrated insights from psychological research into economic science, especially concerning human judgment and decision-making under uncertainty." Among Kahneman's recognitions in the field of psychology are the Hilgard Award for Lifetime Contribution to General Psychology, the Warren Medal of the Society of Experimental Psychologists, and a variety of other fellowships, recognitions and honorary degrees. His extensive work with colleague Amos Tversky (who died in 1996) was recognized in 2003 when the two were awarded the Grawemeyer Award for Psychology.

The focus of Kahneman's work is the study of various aspects of experienced utility, or the measure of the utility of outcomes. His theories in behavior finance combine economics and cognitive science to decipher human risk management behaviors. His main findings demonstrate how human decisions may contradict what is predicted by standard economic theory. His work has inspired a new generation of study using cognitive psychology and human motivation in economics and finance. Kahneman's work with Tversky challenges the traditional economic thought that people make rational decisions motivated by self-interest, including rational financial decisions. According to Kahneman and Tversky's studies, people's economic behavior is more psychologically and emotionally motivated.

In an autobiography Kahneman wrote for the Nobel award, he tells of his beginning interest in the field of psychology, describing an incident in France where he, as a child in either 1941 or 1942, was out past the 6 p.m. curfew that Jews were forced to adhere to. He had turned his brown sweater with the required Star of David inside out to hide the symbol, and he found himself face to face with a German soldier on an empty street. The soldier called to him, speaking in excited German, hugged him and showed him a picture of a young boy, and even gave him some money. Kahneman writes that he walked home convinced that his mother was right when she had told him that "people were endlessly complicated and interesting."

Kahneman's published works include articles in the American Economic Review, Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Journal of Economic Perspectives, and other scholarly and association journals.

[Lisa DeShantz-Cook (2^nd ed.)]