ABSTRACT
Like psychology, economics is interested in human action. In his essay on economics, Robbins (1932) defined economics as a discipline that studies human action against the backdrop of finite and limited resources. Using the metaphor of the ‘homo oeconomicus’, economics study actions undertaken to satisfy human needs in the face of scarce resources. It is assumed that individuals and groups decide rationally and always seek to maximize utility for themselves. Economic psychology investigates the extent to which individual behaviour and group behaviour correspond to economic assumptions and concludes that human action, thought and feeling often contradict economic assumptions. Lay theories about economic interrelationships also often deviate from the postulates of economics yet they are the basis of actual human behaviour in economic contexts.
