Behavioral Economics in the Natural World

Behavioral economics in the natural world is an emerging field that seeks to understand human decision-making by examining the behaviors and strategies of non-human entities. This area of research is grounded in the idea that many of the cognitive biases and heuristics observed in humans may have evolutionary roots shared with other species. For instance, the tendency for risk-aversion and present-bias in humans can be traced back to survival strategies employed by non-human ancestors, such as the instinct to flee at the slightest hint of danger to avoid costly errors. Recent studies have highlighted how animals, from bees to migratory moths, employ simple yet effective heuristics to navigate complex environments, offering valuable insights into the evolution of decision-making processes. Despite these advances, there remains a significant gap in understanding the full extent of these shared heuristics and their implications for both human and animal behavior. This gap underscores the need for a more integrated approach that combines insights from economics, evolutionary biology, and other related fields to deepen our understanding of these phenomena.

This research topic aims to establish a collaborative platform for economists and biological and natural scientists to explore the intersection of economic intuition and biological systems. By fostering interdisciplinary dialogue, the project seeks to integrate economic intuition into the biological sciences, provide behavioral economists with a deeper understanding of biological system complexities, and identify and analyze common heuristics employed by both humans and animals. The ultimate goal is to develop a comparative framework for human and animal economic psychology, thereby advancing knowledge in both economics and biology through the application of interdisciplinary approaches to shared challenges.

To gather further insights into the intersection of economic intuition and biological systems, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:
• Integration of economic intuition into biological sciences.
• Comparative analysis of heuristics in humans and animals.
• Evolutionary roots of cognitive biases and decision-making strategies.
• Empirical studies on the transitional dynamics of animal behavior.
• Theoretical approaches to understanding species-specific heuristics.
• Interdisciplinary frameworks for economic psychology in humans and animals.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Conceptual Analysis
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• FAIR² DATA Direct Submission
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Heuristics, thumb-rules, trade-offs, comparative statics

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.