Rat Economics 101 with Prof. Leonard Green
Dr. Len Green is Professor of Psychology and Economics and the director of Undergraduate Studies in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at WashU. His research laid the groundwork for the field of behavioral economics: the study of the psychological factors that impact economic theories. Dr. Green did this in a rather unusual way; he performed studies on rats and pigeons! What can the behavior of these nonhuman animals and how they react to “income” and other economic situations tell us about the ways humans interact in the economy? Check out this episode if you want to learn about groundbreaking psychology, especially when it is told by a hilarious New Yorker living in the Midwest.