Behavioral economics is the study of how psychological, social, and cognitive factors affect our economic decisions. In contrast to the assumption accepted by classical economics that economic agents behave in an exclusively rational way, behavioral economicsassumes that individuals, at times, move away from that supposed rationality. So, if people do not always behave under the assumption of the rational,What influences that decision-making? And, on the other hand, can this supposed deviation from the “logical way” of acting be measured? What aspects of behavior influence our decisions? Apart from the rational, the cost-benefit analysis, there are other causes that explain our preferences and, therefore, the choices. And many of them we are not fully aware of. Knowing what incentives or motivations can influence when purchasing a product or service, apart from the price, can help its design or define the way to communicate it. Here are some of those non-rational causes that affect our decisions: 1. Incentives and motivations: People usually react to extrinsic incentives, that is, to rewards for performing some action. For example, we work for a salary, we increase the demand for a good if its price falls, or we take a course if it helps us find work. But this is not always the case, sometimes we work to help a family member or a friend, we buy more expensive products for “prestige” or we study more because knowledge makes us feel good. They are the intrinsic motivations, or actions we perform for the mere satisfaction of doing them without the need for any external incentive. 2. Social influences These influences can be informative, we look at what others do to act accordingly, or normative, we make decisions because of the pressure we feel when we are part of the group. 3. Biases: In our day-to-day lives, most of the time we make decisions by simplifying the process of action. Often, it works well, but other times biases are created, moving us away from rationality. Some of the most common biases are: It consists of using easily accessible information. This information may be emotionally recent in content and distorts our perception of risk. An example would be to assess the quality of a product or service, according to the specific experience that a friend or family member has had with it. A situation is judged by its resemblance to others that we already know. For example, most people tend to think that we are middle class, when in fact many of us may be in the highest deciles of the income distribution, or in the lowest ones. A decision is made based on a benchmark. A case that reflects this type of bias is usually observed is that of prices close to a round one: if a product is priced at 99.99 it creates the anchor at 99 instead of 100, which makes the product appear cheaper. 4. Risk taking: 5. Time and planning: Most of our decisions involve time planning. In the short term we act very impatiently (present bias), however, when it is a decision that will take place over a long period of time, we prefer to postpone it. For example, if decisions about quitting smoking, going on a diet, going to the gym or studying English are greatly influenced by this bias: “tomorrow I’ll start…”. So far we have seen that our decisions depend on many aspects, apart from those dictated by reason. But can we anticipate them? It would be of little use to us to define behavioral economics if we cannot measure the causes of our decisions. Include behavioral economics in our research So far, most studies are based on cognitive aspects, that is, on “what I think I should do”. That is why consumers, citizens, potential customers are asked what they would do in a specific situation. But on many occasions, “what I think I should do” is not what “I’m finally going to do”. A classic example is the decision to quit smoking. A good proportion of smokers will answer that they should quit smoking, and that they are willing to do so, because it is not a good habit for health; on the other hand, it will be very difficult for them to make the decision and carry it out. Why?, because it is affected by many other variables that are not taken into account in studies such as personal emotions, bias of the present (procrastination), perception of self-control (we do not see ourselves able to do it), etc. The same happens with the intention to buy a product. Let’s imagine that we ask: Would you buy a product produced under criteria of respect for the environment? Most of us would answer yes, if we asked it this way. But when we go to the supermarket, it is very likely that we would make another decision if there are other similar products that are cheaper, even if they are produced without taking into account the environmental cost. Sometimes the opposite happens: even though a product is more expensive than a similar one, consumers buy it, due to issues related to prestige, imitation, social pressures, etc. On the other hand, if we were to ask in a questionnaire about which attributes influence the purchase of a certain product, imitation or fashion would be less important and price more. We, taking into account the bases of behavioral economics, seek to understand citizens in a deeper way, knowing the drivers that influence decision-making, so that products and services can be defined according to their needs. For all these reasons, we evolved from studies such as the following, in which intentions are defined based on cognitive beliefs (what is declared): Others, based on the Theory of Planned Action, in which we investigate how emotions, social pressure, or the cost of taking a solution affect them. How do we introduce behavioral economics into our work system? Incorporating different types of variables into our methodologies and analyses, in order to see those that