Some economists are already working on that. They are using this brain-imaging data to support a new political philosophy known as asymmetric paternalism. That's a fancy name for a simple idea: creating policies and incentives that help people triumph over their irrational impulses and make better, more prudent decisions. Shlomo Benartzi and

mental accounting,

insula.

George Loewenstein, the neuroeconomist, thinks that understanding the errors of the emotional brain will help policymakers develop plans that encourage people to make better decisions: "Our emotions are like software programs that evolved to solve important and recurring problems in our distant past," he says. "They are not always well suited to

During the peak of the housing boom, 55 percent of all 2/28 mortgages were sold to homeowners who could have gotten prime mortgages.

mental accounting,

The anchoring effect demonstrates how a single additional fact can systematically distort the reasoning process.

cognitive contretemps—this

When the scenario was described in terms of deaths instead of survivors,…

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