New junior research group in neuroeconomics

What goes on in our brains when we invest or spend money? This is the kind of question explored by an emerging subdiscipline of economics called neuroeconomics. Now WZB economists, too, are looking into the human brain to analyze economic decision-making. In October, Peter Mohr joined the WZB to head a junior research group in neuroeconomics, jointly funded by the WZB and Freie Universität Berlin.

The group aims to gain a better understanding of the basic mechanisms of economic decision-making and to identify factors that might influence this process. To this end, the researchers will combine various methods, including behavioral experiments and behavioral modeling, with imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging or eye tracking. The research agenda includes projects on the neural processing of economic risk, on attention effects with decision-making under risk, and on the influence of complexity on the way individuals choose decision-making strategies over the life course.

Peter Mohr studied business administration, earned his PhD in psychology, and currently serves as a junior professor in neuroeconomics at FU Berlin.